The Secret Riddle
by literate-angel
Summary: Melanie was like any other normal girl. Except she had no family, no last name, and no history. So it was expected that she would be skeptical when she is told she's a witch and accepted at Hogwarts. [no major pairings as of yet][follows the Golden Trio]
1. Not So Normal

**Chapter 1: Not So Normal**

Melanie was like any other normal girl. She played with dolls when she was younger, and she always tried to copy the older girls. She was an only child, but that never mattered where she lived. She didn't look any less normal than anyone else, and had straight dark brown hair and oceanic-blue eyes. Ever since a young age, she had always been thin, but not so that one would think her to be starved. You see, Melanie was like any other normal girl, except she lived in an orphanage with fifteen other girls and she never knew her last name. She was just Melanie.

Her entire life she never once called anyone 'Mother' or 'Father'. In fact, the only time she had ever said those words was when she was three and plucked up the courage to ask the matron where 'Mama and Papa' were. The matron simply said that they had left and that all she needed was her family at the home. Melanie never asked that question again.

Since she grew up in that orphanage, Melanie had many, many sisters. Fifteen to be exact. Even though they found it difficult at times to get along, they always looked out for each other no matter what. Melanie couldn't say this was the best home, seeing as she had never known anything else, but she did know that she was happy where she was.

Melanie was close with all of the girls, but she really only had two that she could entrust with all of her secrets. One was Faye, a girl her own age, but opposite in comparison. Faye had curly blonde hair and green eyes and was much less outspoken than Melanie. She was Melanie's best friend at the orphanage ever since she could remember and they did everything together. Like Melanie, Faye never knew her parents and was always too reluctant to ask about them. She never seemed to mind though. Faye was always content with what she had.

Another girl Marissa, who was the eldest of the group, was like Melanie's older sister, the one she copied exactly and looked up to. Even though Marissa was five years older than she was, Melanie still tried to do everything like her and understand what she was going through. But she didn't. Marissa's parents both died in the fire that burned down her house while she was being babysat by a neighbor. Marissa was only six when it happened.

The home that Melanie lived in was better off than most orphanages you hear about. All of the girls got a good education and the best clothing and toys the matron could afford. Some, who had expressed such an interest, also got to learn things like art or how to play an instrument. Melanie appreciated what the home had done for her, but she always felt as if something was missing.

When Melanie turned seven years old, the matron Mrs. Danielson threw her a small party with just all the girls. It was nothing too special, like Marissa's twelfth birthday where she invited all of her friends, but Melanie still loved it. She was never a social butterfly anyway. Melanie could remember the chocolate cake that all the girls had helped to make. But what was more special was the 'Happy Birthday Mels!' written in blue icing and the tiny little roses around the edges. It was a beautiful work and Melanie just couldn't wait to try it. It was also the first day that she knew she was different. The first day she knew she was special.

'_Alright Melanie, time to make a wish and blow out the candles!' Mrs. Danielson exclaimed with an affectionate smile on her face._

_Melanie looked around at the happy faces of the girls around her and closed her eyes. What could she wish for? Anything in the world, but what? Melanie scrunched up her face in thought and heard a few of the younger girls giggle. _

'_C'mon Mels, hurry up!' Faye cried and Melanie knew that she was bouncing on the balls of her feet, ready to eat the cake right then._

_Just one wish…_

_Melanie took a deep breath and was about to blow out the candles when someone sighed._

'_Oh dear, out already. I'll light them again, but you must hurry Melanie,' Mrs. Danielson tutted._

_Melanie opened up her eyes just a crack and saw that all of the candles had gone out. She scowled down at them, as if it was their fault that they couldn't stay lit long enough. Melanie watched as Mrs. Danielson struck a match and touched it to each of the seven candles once again. This time Melanie kept her eyes open, so she could keep a close eye on those flames. _

'_Alright dear, go ahead and make a wish,' Mrs. Danielson said._

_Melanie once again took a deep breath and was about to let it out when suddenly the tiny fire on each waxy candle vanished. It didn't even appear that they blew out._

_As she furrowed her brows in both annoyance and impatience, Mrs. Danielson looked utterly confused._

'_Now how on earth…' she muttered as she pulled out another match._

'_I don't feel a draft. I have no idea how it keeps happening,' Marissa said while gliding across the room to check that the windows were closed. _

_Melanie looked around at the group and saw a few different expressions. The younger girls all looked displeased and were staring longingly at the cake, while the older girls were trying to figure out how the candles kept going out. Melanie looked back at Mrs. Danielson, who was having an immense amount of trouble lighting another match. After a while she gave up and looked at Melanie sympathetically._

'_I'm sorry. We'll have to skip the candles I suppose,' she informed her regretfully._

_Melanie looked down at her feet disappointedly. The one time a year she got to make a wish and it was ruined by a bunch of thoughtless waxy sticks. She looked at the cake through her bangs and wished that it would just explode. _

_Mrs. Danielson turned around to pick up the cutting knife when Melanie felt someone put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw Marissa smiling at her._

'_Who needs them anyway? The cake is still good without them. You just have to-'_

_She was interrupted by a loud bang and Melanie looked over to see Mrs. Danielson covered in blue and white icing with the knife in one hand ready to cut. The girls who were near her were also covered in cake and they all seemed to have their mouths hanging open in the same emotion of shock. The walls and floor behind her were a complete mess as well. Melanie stared at the platter where the cake had sat moments before and saw nothing but a few straggling pieces of icing. _

_Nobody said anything, as they were all too shocked to speak, or had their mouths full of cake. It was only when Melanie began to laugh that Mrs. Danielson came to her senses._

'_Let's…let's all get cleaned up. Yes…' she said while leaving the room to get the mop and bucket._

At first, Melanie didn't actually believe that the exploding cake had been her fault, there was just no possible way, but from that moment on stranger things began to happen. Things that were so out of the ordinary, that they were impossible to explain.

_Melanie was nine years old when Mrs. Danielson took all the girls to a museum in London. She was not very excited to see the old building full of nothing but statues and paintings, but Mrs. Danielson said it would be 'educational' and 'very enjoyable'. So, she took all of the girls downtown with her and led them into the museum._

_While most of the girls stared in awe and wonder at the artifacts and whatnot, Melanie lagged behind thinking quietly to herself. Faye had left her quite a while before, knowing that Melanie would not cooperate and follow with enthusiasm and Melanie found herself dragging her feet. She had just finished wondering what they were to have for supper, when she looked up and found herself in a very abandoned hall. Melanie frantically looked around for the group but saw absolutely no one. _

_Kicking herself for her lack of attention and stubborn behavior, Melanie looked around the hall and saw that there were many paintings of people she had never seen before. She gazed around the chamber until one painting in particular caught her eye. Slowly walking over to the gold framed picture, Melanie noticed that it was one of an ancient looking man with a short white beard and large round spectacles. She couldn't help but snicker at the poor man, but he did look fairly ridiculous. He was wearing a hideous purple suit and lime green necktie, topped off by a green bowler hat._

_Melanie turned away to begin her search for the orphanage group when she heard a voice from behind her._

'_What is so amusing Miss?'_

_She turned around, but saw no one standing there. Thinking that she had not really heard anything, Melanie twisted back around and took a few steps towards the exit of the room. _

'_Excuse me, but I believe I asked you a question.'_

_This time Melanie was sure she had heard something and quickly turned around. The old man in the painting…was moving. She stumbled backwards and tripped over her feet out of pure shock. Staring up at the painting with her jaw practically on the floor, the man looked down at her with curious, yet smiling eyes._

'_Now, now, don't be like that! Pick yourself up!' the man ordered._

_Melanie obeyed, but still no words escaped her lips. All she was capable of doing was opening and closing her mouth, but that certainly wasn't helping. _

_Terrified, she began to slowly back away from the canvas, sure that the man could see the look of utter horror on her face. However the man just smiled and nodded his head in the direction of the exit. _

'_They went that way. Turn left,' he said._

_Melanie nodded her head violently and ran from the room without looking back once. _

After that incident and a few more, Melanie was convinced that there was something about her that was different from all of the other girls. Whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, she was still unsure of.

Two years later, only a few weeks before her eleventh birthday, Melanie was sitting quietly on her bed reading when Faye burst through the door. She skipped over to Melanie's bed and jumped on top of it staring intently at Melanie.

"What is it Faye?" Melanie asked putting her book down on her bedside table.

Faye continued to bounce up and down on the mattress while saying, "There's a man here to see you! He's from some boarding school I think…Danielson is on her way to tell you now!"

Melanie grinned at her friend's impeccable timing and snooping skills and told Faye to get off her bed and look busy, so they didn't seem too suspicious. Faye shot off the bed and ran over to her own on the opposite side of the room. She grabbed her schoolwork and tossed it on the bed while Melanie picked up her book again. Faye had just bent over her work and Melanie had just opened the cover of the book when there was a knock at the door and Mrs. Danielson walked in. The woman, who was getting even more graceful with age, smiled at her two 'studious' children and cleared her throat.

Both girls looked up as if they knew nothing of what was about to happen and smiled sweetly at Mrs. Danielson before politely asking what she wanted.

"Melanie, there is a man here to see you about a school. His name is Dumbledore…I believe he is the Headmaster so please do be respectful. Faye, why don't you follow me?" Mrs. Danielson said before opening the door to allow Faye out of the room.

Faye got off her bed and gave Melanie a quick smile before leaving the room with Mrs. Danielson. As soon as they left, a rather elderly man entered the room. He was a very tall and thin man, and whereas Melanie first thought him to be frail he gave off a strong sense of power and deep wisdom. His long silver beard and hair reached past his waist, long enough to tuck into the large belt he was wearing. His clothes were especially strange to Melanie, as he wore a set of long midnight blue robes and a large traveling cloak which both seemed to swish around with each movement he made. Melanie saw sparkling blue eyes behind half-moon spectacles that were perched lightly atop his large crooked nose.

"Good afternoon Melanie. My name is Albus Dumbledore and I am the Headmaster of a school called Hogwarts. I am here to tell you, that you have been accepted at my school," the man said.

Melanie looked at him unbelievingly. How could she be accepted at a school she never applied to? She had never even heard of this Hogwarts before. None of the older girls had ever talked about it.

"Excuse me sir. But how could I be accepted at a school I never applied to?" Melanie inquired while studying the man.

"You have been on a list since your birth, my dear," Dumbledore said smiling.

Melanie was about to ask who had put her name down, but Dumbledore continued.

"Hogwarts is a school for students with special abilities. A school for magic."

She looked at him with an amused expression. Now he was just fooling with her. Why? "Magic?" Melanie asked with a slight laugh in her voice.

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, magic. You, Melanie, are a witch," he said.

Melanie wanted to laugh. A witch?! Honestly, that was preposterous. There was no such thing, only in stories. But then again, it would explain all those weird things that had happened to her…

"Sir, there's no such thing as witches… or magic," Melanie told him, but the way he looked at her with such seriousness made her begin to doubt her own confidence. She no longer knew what to believe.

"How did that cake explode on your seventh birthday? How did that painting start talking to you? All these things and more are things that you have done," Dumbledore stated wisely.

Melanie looked at her hands for a moment before saying, "So if I'm a witch, and I can do magic, why had no one told me before?"

Dumbledore's blue eyes searched the room as if trying to find a place to sit before he answered, "Because no one else you know is a witch or wizard. They are what we call Muggles or non-magic folk. No one would have been able to tell you here."

"And my parents? Were they magic too?" Melanie asked hopefully. She had not brought up this subject since she was three years old and suddenly talking about it now sent a strange feeling through her body.

"Unfortunately, I do not know. But I will promise you that if you come to Hogwarts, I can help you learn about your parents," Dumbledore told her. He was still looking around the room when Melanie offered him a seat on one of the beds.

"That's quite alright," he said brushing her off. He drew a long slender stick from his pocket and she wondered why on earth he would keep such a thing. Melanie watched as he waved the stick and out of nowhere, a plush violet armchair appeared in the middle of the room. Melanie stared at it with wide eyes and Dumbledore chuckled.

"A wand. You'll need one of these as well," he informed her before sitting down in the comfortable chair.

Melanie nodded slightly, still amazed by the fact that a perfectly solid chair had just materialized out of thin air.

"Now Melanie," Dumbledore began, "if you do decide to come to Hogwarts, there are a few things you need to know. Firstly, I will give you a school list of all the information that is necessary for you to know. It has all of the supplies you'll need and the date and time you must be at the train platform. Secondly, Hogwarts is similar to what Muggles would call a boarding school therefore you will need to return here during the summer holidays as well as the Christmas holidays if you wish. And thirdly, you must know that Hogwarts has a strict policy about the use of magic on others. Said use of magic on others will not be tolerated and we will expel any student if need be. Then there is the Ministry of Magic who will have their own laws you must follow."

Melanie nodded throughout all of this, as if she was trying to take mental notes of everything he was saying. However she wasn't doing so well and Dumbledore smiled.

"Don't fret. It's a lot to take in, but in time you will learn all of this. Now," he said while pulling out a large envelope, "this is your letter," he continued handing it to her, "which has everything you need. I'm fairly certain that your matron will not have any wizarding money therefore I will inform you that we have a small student's fund that we can give you to purchase your things. Most will have to be second hand, but the shops are good enough quality. I will have someone meet you there to help you get your things. I have already informed Mrs. Danielson of where to drop you off."

Dumbledore got up from his chair and with another flick of his wand, the chair disappeared. Melanie stood with him still mesmerized as he walked towards the bedroom door. He put one hand on the brass knob of the door before turning around.

"I think it wise that you do not tell anyone the kind of school you will be attending. Some do not take it so well as others," he said before giving her a wink and leaving the room.

Melanie stood completely still with the envelope clutched in one hand. It was a while before she finally forced her body to move and looked down at the fresh parchment.

On the very front of the letter in neat cursive writing it said:

Miss Melanie

Third Bedroom on the Left

6 Moon Crescent

London


	2. Trips and Sortings

**Chapter 2: Trips and Sortings**

She was a witch. She was going to Hogwarts, a school where they would teach her magic. She was going to meet other witches and wizards her age. She was going to find out who her parents were. She was leaving this orphanage and her family behind, but she would finally have that missing piece of the puzzle.

These thoughts ran through her head every second of every day for the next week. Melanie was still stunned since Dumbledore's visit and had went to bed that night thinking that she had imagined it. But when she woke up and the letter was still laying on her night stand, Melanie had no choice but to accept that it was all real.

Like she had promised Dumbledore, Melanie did not tell a soul anything about her new school. She seemed to get away with saying she didn't know much about it and after a while, the other girls stopped asking about it. She did feel guilty though. Faye, who she thought could keep the huge secret, seemed to know that Melanie wasn't telling the entire truth and acted quite reserved for a while. However she seemed to forget it quite easily and returned to being her usual self.

The day finally arrived when Mrs. Danielson woke Melanie from her deep sleep, very early in the morning. At first, Melanie was whiny and refused to get out of bed at such an early hour, but then the matron quietly reminded her that if she didn't come, she would have nothing to take to her new school. At those words Melanie shot out of bed, dressed, and followed Mrs. Danielson out of the room.

The home was still dark even though it was morning and Melanie let a yawn escape her. She hoped that when she got to Hogwarts, she would never have to wake this early ever again. She followed Mrs. Danielson towards the front foyer of the house, where she put on her coat to protect her from the harsh morning chill.

They had made it to the car and Melanie was strapped into the backseat protectively when they set off down the road. As they drove in silence, Melanie extracted her envelope from her pocket. The one clean crisp parchment was now bent and folded, carried a juice stain, and the opening was so worn from the constant opening and closing of the envelope. Melanie pulled the letter out yet again and read the same small cursive writing that she now knew off by heart.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

When Melanie had first opened the letter, she had wondered what all those titles under Professor Dumbledore's name meant. But when she found out that she knew nothing about them, she merely assumed that it meant he was a very good skilled wizard. The rest of that letter stated that she had indeed been accepted at Hogwarts. This brought up thoughts about why the Headmaster had come to see her in the first place.

Melanie laid that letter down beside her and pulled out the second piece of paper. This one had a full list of necessary books and equipment that she would need, along with the requirements for the school uniform.

Melanie wondered where they were going to find all of this in London, but she did not doubt Dumbledore's judgment and trusted that there would be someone to help her. At least she hoped there was. If she was left alone in London with nothing but the clothes on her back and the pouch of wizard money in her pocket, she didn't know what she would do.

Mrs. Danielson drove for at least another half-hour before she stopped the car outside of a tiny, grubby-looking pub. At first, Melanie looked right past it, expecting to see something a little more 'magical'. But when Mrs. Danielson ushered her out of the car and led her towards the old building Melanie realized that that was exactly where they were headed. As Mrs. Danielson gave careful glances at the passers-by, Melanie looked up at the sign that hung just above the door which read, 'Leaky Cauldron'. Finally, she was rushed through the door by her matron, but was slightly disappointed by what she saw.

It was very dark and shabby, not at all a place she would have thought someone would choose to meet a new student. There were a few older women in a corner, each nursing a bottle of sherry, and a stout old man in a top hat sitting at the bar. However no one was talking very much and the noise that should be there was not but a low buzz of chatter. There was another man at the bar, whom she guessed was the owner, who was cleaning a glass with a dazed look on his face. Melanie wondered why, but was more distracted when she saw another glass cleaning itself. The sudden waft of fumes in the place caused Melanie to choke and her eyes water.

She had just managed to wipe away her tears when she saw a rather large man walk over to her from the bar. He was a giant of a man, towering over everyone else in the entire bar. His mane of shaggy black hair covered his face as well as his thick black beard, but his small black eyes were still visible.

"Ye must be Melanie. Hagrid, Keeper o' Keys an' Grounds at Hogwarts. Dumbledore told me tha' yeh would need help findin' some o' your things," the man said holding out his hand for her to shake. Melanie politely took his hand, but hers was swallowed in his own massive one and she thought she would be lifted off the ground when he shook it. He apparently didn't know his own strength.

Hagrid beamed down at her, with his beady little eyes crinkling into a smile, before turning to a frightened Mrs. Danielson to make arrangements. When he turned, Melanie saw that there was someone behind him for the first time. A boy about her age peaked around Hagrid's side and looked at her. He was quite thin like her self and she saw that his clothes were far too big for him. He had unruly jet black hair that fell loosely into his eyes, which were the most brilliant green color that Melanie had ever seen. The boy also wore round glasses that appeared to have been snapped in half and then repaired using Sellotape.

"Hello. My name is Melanie," she said holding out her hand.

The boy took her hand and shook it gently before saying, "Harry. Are you a…?"

"A witch?" Melanie said smiling, "I found out last week. Are you going to Hogwarts as well?"

Harry nodded his head looking only faintly nervous. Melanie smiled knowing that she wasn't the only one who was feeling that way. And also, at least now she knew she would have a friend at Hogwarts.

"Alrigh' you two! Time ter get going!" Hagrid told them heading towards the back of the bar. Harry followed him and Melanie was about to, but she was stopped when Mrs. Danielson put a hand on her shoulder.

She looked down at Melanie caringly and unconsciously began to fix the girl's hair. "Now be good. And stick close to that man; I'm sure you're safe with him. And make sure you get all of your things, say your pleases and thank-yous…"

"I will," Melanie interrupted.

Mrs. Danielson smiled and gave Melanie a hug. When she pulled away she said, "I'm very proud of you. You've always been a bright girl but I never…I will always be proud of you, Melanie."

Melanie smiled and gave Mrs. Danielson another quick hug before turning and pushing her way through the crowd of people to where Harry and Hagrid were waiting for her. Hagrid led them out into a small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a dustbin and a few weeds. Melanie looked over to see that Harry shared the same confused expression as herself and became much less embarrassed. Hagrid pulled out a vibrant pink umbrella and began to tap the bricks on the wall, while Harry and Melanie stood back.

"Three up…two across…" Hagrid muttered tapping along the wall in an almost rhythmic pattern.

Finally the brick he had touched shook and wriggled, creating a small hole, which grew wider and wider and within a few seconds they were facing a large stone archway. Past the arch was a cobbled street which twisted and turned out of sight.

"Welcome, to Diagon Alley," Hagrid said moving aside so that Melanie and Harry could step through first. She was so mesmerized that she didn't even see the archway behind her shift and close.

The sun shone brightly on the stony streets of Diagon Alley, but Melanie was more interested in other things than the weather. Every which way there was something new and interesting, and she wished she could stop and look at it all, but Hagrid insisted that they go get Harry's money first. So as they walked up the street (Hagrid making it much easier to push through the crowds) Melanie looked around at as many shops as she could. They passed a building called Eeylops Owl Emporium where the distinct sound of hooting was coming from. Another shop had a group of boys around her age all standing around the window, pushing their way through to get a better look at something.

"Look," one of them said as his nose was pressed against the glass, "the new Nimbus Two Thousand-fastest ever-"

Melanie strained to see what they were looking at, but was shorter than the group ahead of her.

"It's a broomstick," Harry told her as he stood on his tiptoes to get a better look. "It looks fast even from here," he said in complete awe.

"But first years aren't allowed broomsticks, are they?" Melanie asked him.

Harry looked at her sadly and shrugged his shoulders. "Always next year," he said smiling.

Melanie smiled too, but seriously doubted ever being able to buy the broom. If she had to get her robes and books second-hand, then there was no way she would be able to afford a brand new broom.

They continued walking, Hagrid acting as their tour guide and pointing out little things that their excitement would have caused them to miss. They finally reached a snowy-white building that towered over all the other little shops that they had passed. It looked quite magnificent and Melanie knew that one would be easily lost inside it. Unconsciously, she moved closer to the other two.

Gringotts was as magnificent as she had predicted and Melanie was left staring in awe. Hagrid ushered her and Harry through the heavy silver doors and they entered a vast marble hall. Melanie gasped when she saw about a hundred goblins walking around the hall, using brass scales to weigh coins, and doing other various tasks. There where also many doors leading out of the hall, in which more goblins were showing people in and out of. Hagrid led Harry and Melanie to a counter (which overlooked Harry and Melanie, but defiantly not Hagrid).

"Morning," Hagrid greeted the goblin sitting behind the counter. "We've come ter take some money outta Mr. Harry Potter's safe."

Melanie fell away from the conversation as she looked around the hall. Harry too, seemed to be mesmerized by the place, his eyes wide as he looked around the hall. At one point he nudged her side and nodded in the direction of a goblin who was weighing many sparkling rubies the size of coals.

She was so distracted that she did not even realize they were leaving the hall until she heard Harry's voice.

"What's the you-know-what in vault you-know-which?" Harry asked Hagrid as they approached a door that led out of the hall.

Hagrid shook his head before saying mysteriously, "Can't tell yeh that. Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that."

Melanie frowned in disappointment, but soon forgot it when the goblin opened the door to reveal, not more marble, but a narrow stone passage way. The only light in this hall was the lit torches and Melanie was reminded of her seventh birthday once again. This time she hoped they stayed lit, for if they didn't she was afraid that the darkness would swallow them. The passageway sloped steeply downwards and disappeared into the shadow, but Melanie could faintly see what looked like train tracks running along the floor.

The goblin they were with whistled and Melanie watched as a small cart hurdled along the track towards them and then abruptly stopped. They all climbed in (Hagrid with some difficulty) before they set off down the steep hill.

Melanie remembered the first time Mrs. Danielson had taken her to the fair. She was eight years old and was most excited to go on a huge winding roller coaster. Faye had been too scared to go on with her, so Marissa went instead. When Melanie had finally gotten into the seat beside Marissa, she was literally jumping for joy. She remembered them strapping her in. After that she couldn't recall much else because she had kept her eyes closed the rest of the way. What she did remember was the sick feeling in her stomach as the cart whirled around and to the sides and up and down. Melanie also remembered being sick right after and ruining Marissa's favorite shirt.

Going through the tunnels was much of the same experience. It winded and twisted the same way and because it was so dark anyway, she kept her eyes shut. It wasn't until she felt the cart lurch to a stop when she dared to open her eyes again. When she did, Melanie found that she was the only one left in the cart. Hagrid was leaning against a wall for support and the goblin was busy trying to fit the key into a large metal door. Harry seemed completely unaffected by the ride.

Melanie weakly pulled herself out of the cart, positive that her face would be a sickly white if it were not for the darkness around them. Finally the goblin unlocked the door and green smoke came billowing out. Melanie walked closer to the group, as slowly as possible, and when the fog cleared she gasped at the sight.

Never in her life had she seen such riches.

There were mounds of gold. Columns of silver. Heaps of tiny bronze coins. Melanie watched in amazement and slight jealousy as Hagrid helped Harry pile some of his fortune into a bag. She also felt slightly abandoned. If her parents were still alive, would they be able to have a vault like this one as well? Not that the money inside mattered much to her, but just the thought that they might have left her something behind…

When Harry and Hagrid turned around, Harry grinned sheepishly at her. Melanie just smiled back as if nothing was the matter and turned to get into the cart again.

"Next vault please, and can we go more slowly?" Hagrid asked the goblin hopefully.

"One speed only," the tiny creature answered not in the least amused. Actually it really had no emotion.

Melanie got out of the cart the second time, her stomach doing slightly better than the first ride, and looked up at the number above the metal door. 713. As she reached the door, she noticed that this vault had no keyhole. How were they supposed to open such a heavy door without a key?

"Stand back," the goblin ordered them and they did as they were told. He stroked the door along the middle with one of his long fingers and a series of clicks could be heard from the other side. The vault door swung open and the green smoke rushed out of it again. Expecting to see something very valuable looking, Melanie was disappointed when all she found was a grubby little package in the center. Hagrid picked it up and tucked it safely into one of his many coat pockets. Melanie wanted to ask what it was, but she knew better than that.

Once out of Gringotts, Hagrid looked very sickly. Melanie was worried that he would pass out, he was so pale. But he carried on walking them all the way back towards the main center of the tiny little shops they had seen before. They were just outside _Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions_ when Hagrid spoke again.

"Might as well get yer uniforms," he said nodding in the direction of the building. "Listen, Harry an' Melanie, would yeh mind if I slipped of fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate them Gringotts carts."

Both Harry and Melanie nodded their heads and watched as he walked off. He did deserve a break after all and Melanie thought that giving him time to sit down would be a good idea.

"Ready?" Harry asked her nervously. Melanie felt just as uneasy as he sounded, but nodded her head anyway.

They entered the shop together and immediately found Madam Malkin, who was a squat, smiling witch dressed in mauve robes.

"Hogwarts? Both of you?" she asked before Harry could say anything. "Got the lot in here - another young man being fitted as we speak."

She led them to the back of the shop where a boy with a pale, pointed face was standing on a footstool while another witch hemmed his robes. Madam Malkin placed Harry on the stool beside him and Melanie on Harry's other side. She placed robes over both of their heads (Melanie's were made for witches of course) and began to pin Harry's robes while another witch did Melanie's.

The boy on Harry's other side looked them both over, as if trying to determine if they were worthy of conversation. "Hullo," he said, "Hogwarts too?"

"Yes," Harry answered whereas Melanie just nodded. She had spent no more than a few seconds talking to the boy, but already she knew there was something about him that she couldn't trust.

Harry and the other boy began talking about things that Melanie had never heard of before, however it was more of a one sided discussion. Harry gave the impression that he knew as little as she did, and the other boy gave the impression that he was a little full of himself. It wasn't until the boy began badmouthing Hagrid, who was standing outside balancing three ice cream cones, that she really spoke up.

"How can you judge him if you've never even met him?" she blurted out angrily. Even if she had only known Hagrid the one day, she knew well enough that this boy had no right to make a conclusion about him.

The boys looked around Harry at her and looked her up and down. "I can do whatever I feel. Who are you anyway? Not one of those Mudbloods I hope," the boys sneered.

Melanie was about to shout back at him when Madam Malkin announced that they were both done and Harry grabbed her hand and dragged her from the store.

They continued with their shopping and had just left the Apothecary, when Hagrid checked their list again.

"Just yer wands left- oh I an' I still haven't got yeh a birthday present Harry," he exclaimed.

Melanie watched as Harry went red and tried to explain to Hagrid that he didn't have to get him a gift, but Hagrid insisted. So he sent Melanie and Harry ahead to get their wands while he walked away in the opposite direction. As they walked toward _Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382BC_ Melanie asked, "Why didn't you say that your birthday had already passed?"

Harry looked at her, again going red, before saying, "Doesn't matter really. I mean I never get presents anyway…"

"Why don't you get presents? Don't your parents…?"

"They died," Harry explained, "when I was only a year old. I've lived with my aunt and uncle for nearly 10 years. They were never that great though when it came to birthdays for me."

Melanie nodded her head in understanding. "I know how you feel. I can't remember my parents either."

Harry gave her a confused look, so she continued. "I've lived at an orphanage my entire life. I never knew my parents; I don't even know my last name!"

"I'm sorry," Harry said, sounding genuinely sympathetic for her. But Melanie brushed him off.

"It's alright though. All the girls at the home are my family. I don't need anyone else," she said.

"But you must miss them?" Harry asked.

Melanie shrugged. "I never knew them, how can I miss something I never knew? Besides, it's not like they left anything behind that would cause me to miss them. I know nothing about them, the matron doesn't know, not even Professor Dumbledore knows. I have lots of sisters who care about me and that's all I need," she explained. She didn't really expect him to understand her, even if they did have some things in common, their situations were too different to compare.

They continued in silence the rest of the way to the shop. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, Melanie found herself to be quite relaxed, but it was a silence that showed they were both in deep thought. When they finally stepped through the threshold of Ollivanders, a bell tinkling over head announcing their arrival, Melanie and Harry were amazed at the many tiny boxes that seemed to hold up the building itself. The shop was deathly quiet and neither could see a shopkeeper anywhere. Melanie was about to call out when an old man appeared out of the gloom of the shop, his wide, pale eyes shining like tiny moons.

"Good afternoon," the man said while stepping out from the back of the shop. Harry and Melanie muttered a quiet hello; both looked as if they were slightly wary of the man. "Yes, yes," the man continued in an airy sort of tone, "I knew I would be seeing you soon Harry Potter. You have your mother's eyes you know. It seems only yesterday she was in here buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Good for charm work."

Melanie looked over to see Harry looking completely baffled by the old Mr. Ollivander. She didn't blame him. If a stranger knew everything about her and her parents then she would be quite put-off as well. As soon as she thought of it, Melanie wondered if this man did in fact know anything about her parents.

"Your father on the other hand," Mr. Ollivander continued while walking towards Harry, "had a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. More power and excellent for transfiguration. Of course it's really the wand that chooses the wizard. Not the other way around."

By the time Ollivander was done speaking, he was nearly nose to nose with Harry. Melanie felt slightly forgotten and was anxious to find out if Ollivander really knew as much as he let on. She drew her attention back to Harry and the old wand maker, just as he said, "And that's where…"

Curiously, Melanie watched as Mr. Ollivander touched Harry's forehead with a long, white finger. At first she had no idea what was going on, until she noticed a thin, lightning bolt shaped scar on Harry's forehead. How she had failed to notice that the entire day she didn't know, but now she wondered how he had managed to get such a mark.

"I'm sorry to say I sold the wand that did it," Ollivander said softy, ashamedly, "Thirteen and a half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands…If I'd known what that wand would have done…"

Ollivander turned away from Harry and spotted Melanie. She couldn't help but notice his eyes widen even more as he took in her appearance. Mr. Ollivander stepped away from Harry, who looked slightly relieved, and over to Melanie.

"Now, this, this is curious. Melanie, is it not? A flower with no last name. Yes, I remember your father as well…"

Melanie's heart beat faster in anticipation. Finally…finally she would know who her father was.

"Maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches, and quite whippy as I recall. Terrible shame it was…" Ollivander told her.

Melanie looked past him for a brief second and saw that Harry too had a rather curious face. He knew that she had never known her parents and must have known that this was the first she had heard of them.

"What was a terrible shame sir?" Melanie asked.

Ollivander nodded his head knowingly before saying, "Of course, not even born when it happened. And your dear mother…yes, I remember her now. Sweet girl, always sent me a card when Christmas came around. Ebony and unicorn hair, I believe. Beautiful wand. Terrible shame…"

Melanie waited for him to say more, but he didn't, and he turned to a wobbly looking pile of boxes. He searched through them until finally he found one and pulled it from the group.

"Here, dragon heartstring, ash. Seven and a quarter inches."

Melanie took the wand and held it in her hand. Nothing happened.

Ollivander frowned and took the wand back and returned it to the pile. Melanie counted five more wands that she tried until he grinned when he took out the next one.

"Here we are. Unicorn hair, eight inches. Made of willow. Go on try it," he said excitedly placing the wand in her hand.

Melanie gave the wand a lazy flick and nearly toppled backwards when blue sparks emitted from the tip of it. She stood there in amazement while Mr. Ollivander smiled.

He left her and began rummaging through the stacks of long narrow boxes. He pulled one out and brought it over to Harry.

"Right then, Mr. Potter. Try this one. Beechwood and dragon heartstring. Nine inches. Very flexible. Just take it and give it a wave," he said while passing Harry the wand. However Harry had not so much as lifted his hand when Mr. Ollivander snatched it away. "No, no- that won't do…" he muttered before turning back to the heap of boxes.

They continued to do this, wand after wand, for quite some time. Melanie had resorted to sitting on the floor and waiting, seeing as the only chairs were covered by a mountain of wands. She now had a long wrapped box in her hands and was simply astounded that she now had a wand of her own.

Mr. Ollivander had just returned from the back room, muttering to himself before passing Harry yet another wand. "Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple. Strange combination, but I wonder."

Melanie watched as Harry took the wand and it seemed to glow in his hand. Mr. Ollivander smiled and returned the wand back to its original box and wrapping it in brown paper. All the while, he was muttering, "Curious, very curious."

Harry's own curiosity seemed to get the better of him because he asked, "Sorry, but what's curious?"

Mr. Ollivander fixed Harry with his pale stare. "I remember every wand I ever sold, Mr. Potter. Every single wand. It so happens that the phoenix whose tail feather is in your wand, gave another feather-just one other. It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother- gave you that scar."

Melanie gasped as Harry visibly swallowed. It seemed to her that they both had a number of things yet to learn about themselves.

"The wand chooses the wizard…I think we can expect great things from you, Mr. Potter…After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things- terrible, yes, but great," Ollivander said.

Melanie decided that she found Ollivander a little odd and wasn't sure she entirely liked him. She grabbed her wand as Harry paid for his and then they headed for the door.

"Melanie!"

Melanie and Harry turned around to find Mr. Ollivander looking straight at her. "Remember, blood is thicker than water. But sometimes blood can be tainted. Water can wash it away," he said mysteriously.

Melanie wasn't sure how to respond to this, so she hesitantly turned and left the shop, Harry close on her heels.

The rest of the afternoon both Harry and Melanie walked in silence (Harry with his new snowy owl, Hedwig, sleeping in her cage) thinking about what they had heard. Melanie was lost in deep thought and didn't even notice when Hagrid began to lead them back to the Leaky Cauldron.

Her parents had been wizards. They had been like her. And something terrible happened…but what? If only Ollivander had continued. And what did he mean by, _blood is thicker than water_? She knew the saying, but what did it have to do with her?

They had just entered the Leaky Cauldron, which was empty now except for the owner Tom, when Melanie looked up and saw Mrs. Danielson smiling at her. Melanie smiled back and rushed over to her to show her some of her new things.

Momentarily forgetting that she was with other people, Melanie turned to see Hagrid and Harry both watching with silent amusement.

"Thank you for taking me today Hagrid. I wouldn't have been able to find all my things otherwise," Melanie said once again shaking Hagrid's massive hand. Hagrid turned slightly pink at all her flattery and mumbled a small 'Yer welcome,' before she turned to Harry.

"I guess I'll see you at school?" Melanie asked.

"Yeah, see you," he replied while smiling.

Melanie smiled back at him before turning and leaving the pub with Mrs. Danielson.

The last month of the summer went by too slowly for Melanie's liking. She spent most of her time reading her new books, which she found fascinating, but she had to hind them from the rest of the girls and Faye, with whom she really wanted to share these things with. Melanie's other things were to be kept hidden as well until she left for school and were currently residing in her trunk.

The day of her eleventh birthday came and Melanie was woken up by Faye jumping up and down in her bed.

"C'mon Mel, get up! There are presents downstairs!" Faye exclaimed trying to pull the covers off of a grumpy Melanie.

Faye finally got her out of bed and dragged her down the stairs to where all of the girls were waiting for her. Melanie smiled as best she could and gave everyone a hug as she passed by. In the center were a small pile of gifts, all wrapped in colorful paper that shimmered in the light. Mrs. Danielson gave her a tight hug and motioned for her to open her presents.

By the end of it, the floor was covered in paper and ribbon and Melanie had a new dress, book, and a tiny little stuffed owl from Mrs. Danielson, who gave her a quick wink when Melanie smiled at her. Very happy with the presents she had got, Melanie took them up to her room and tucked her dress and book into her trunk.

Melanie was reading her book on _Magical Theory_ when Mrs. Danielson entered the room. She walked over to Melanie's bed and sat down on the edge of the bed gentle pressing down the covers. Melanie looked at her curiously and set her book down, giving her full attention to the matron.

"Are you all packed for tomorrow?" Mrs. Danielson asked her.

Melanie nodded her head and pointed to her trunk at the base of her bed. When morning came, she would have to lug it downstairs and into the car, something to which she was not looking forward to.

Mrs. Danielson nodded and then pulled something out of a pocket in her dress. Melanie looked at it the small brown box curiously and was surprised when the matron handed it to her.

"Another small gift, for going off to school," Mrs. Danielson told her.

Melanie looked from her to the box and slowly lifted the lid off of it and found a tiny amber pendant hanging from a silver chain. Melanie looked at it in astonishment and held it in her hand. The amber stone was a mix of red a brown and gold all swirling together to make a rich dark red color. It was carved into a teardrop shape and Melanie thought that it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

"So you remember," Mrs. Danielson began while taking the necklace from her, "us all when you're at school." She clipped the necklace around Melanie's neck and smiled at her in an affectionate, motherly way. Melanie was overcome and gave her a big hug, not letting go until she had made sure that she would not start to cry.

"I won't forget," Melanie said quietly.

Mrs. Danielson smiled and kissed Melanie on the forehead. "I want you to get to bed early; you have a big day ahead of you."

She left the room and Melanie stared after her. She really would miss everyone here while she was gone. She wouldn't have the security that the home had given her and she would have to make friends all over again. At least she knew she would have Harry, but still the notion that she wouldn't have Faye or Marissa or anyone else with her made her feel alone.

It was just after eight o'clock when Melanie and Faye settled into bed. Melanie had spent the rest of the day making sure she had everything packed, which it was, and only her wand, which was safely hidden under her pillow, stayed outside of her trunk. Mrs. Danielson had come by to turn out the lights, but Melanie had a hard time falling asleep. She had yet to talk to Faye about leaving, knowing that both of them dreaded the thought, but Melanie didn't want to leave tomorrow without saying goodbye.

"Faye?" Melanie whispered hoping that she was not already asleep.

"Yeah?" she heard Faye whisper back.

Melanie sat up in her bed and heard Faye do the same. She could not see through the darkness, but Melanie knew that Faye was looking at her.

"I'm gunna miss you," Melanie said sadly.

Melanie heard Faye sniffle before saying, "I'll miss you too. I wish you didn't have to go, and then you could stay here."

She could say no and stay behind. But then she wouldn't be able to learn any magic. She wouldn't be able to meet other witches and wizards. And she wouldn't be able to learn more about her parents. Melanie couldn't stay. It didn't feel right.

"I know. But I'll be back for the Christmas break and during the summer. And we can write whenever we need to," Melanie said.

Once again Faye sniffled. Melanie felt guilty for leaving her behind, but she knew this was something she had to do. "Yeah. Whenever," Faye said before laying back down in her bed. Melanie was saddened, but decided that it would be better tomorrow and pulled the covers over her. With dreams of magic and Hogwarts, she fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Melanie was gently shaken awake by Mrs. Danielson, who was already dressed and ready to go. Melanie got out of bed excitedly like a child on Christmas morning, and put on the clothes she had left out the night before. Melanie then grabbed her wand from underneath her pillow and tucked it safely inside her jean pocket. Grabbing her truck, she lifted it with much difficulty and dragged it towards the door. She had made it into the hallway and was about to close the door when she saw Faye asleep in her bed. Melanie knew she couldn't just leave, so she opened her trunk and took out her new stuffed animal. Quietly she walked over to the bedside table and laid it down so that it would be the first thing Faye saw when she woke.

Melanie gave her one last glance before turning and leaving the room. After taking a while to heave her trunk all the way down the stairs, Melanie finally reached the bottom where Mrs. Danielson was waiting. Melanie then grabbed her coat and helped the matron carry her things out to the car.

They reached King's Cross Station a little while after ten and Mrs. Danielson went to get a trolley to put Melanie's trunk on. While she did that, Melanie looked around and saw that there were already many people at the station, but none that she would think were wizards. When her trunk was finally loaded onto the trolley, Melanie and Mrs. Danielson headed off into the station.

"Now, you are supposed to be at platform…" Mrs. Danielson drew out Melanie's train ticket, "nine and three quarters? Where on earth…?"

"Harry!" Melanie exclaimed as she saw a black haired, green eyed boy looking very lost. He turned around and a grateful smile touched his lips. She pushed her trolley towards him, Mrs. Danielson following close behind, with a smile on her face.

"How are you?" Harry asked, still looking slightly anxious.

"I'm well," Melanie answered, "You have no idea where platform nine and three quarters is either?"

Harry shook his head and resumed looking around.

"Perhaps we should ask the train guard?" Mrs. Danielson suggested, baffled by the ticket in her hand.

"I already have," Harry told her, "they've never heard of a school called Hogwarts and there's no train that leaves at eleven."

Melanie looked worried. What if they couldn't get on the train? They would have to stay here and miss Hogwarts completely.

The three of them looked around for any sign of platform nine and three quarters when Melanie heard someone from a passing group say, "- packed with Muggles of course-"

She looked over at Harry, who had heard the group as well, and followed him after the group. Melanie noted that everyone in the group had flaming red hair and assumed it was a family. A plump woman, who Melanie guessed was the mother, was directing her children to a space between platforms nine and ten. Melanie watched as one of the older boys walked straight towards the barrier between the platforms and suddenly vanished through the wall.

Another boy went through, and his identical twin was about to when Harry suddenly walked forward.

"Excuse me," he said to the plump woman. Melanie stayed close behind him and Mrs. Danielson followed her looking completely stunned.

"Hullo dears," she said. "First time at Hogwarts? Ronald's new too," she said pointing to her youngest son. He had red hair just like the rest and was tall and gangly looking.

"We are," Harry said. "The thing is- the thing is we don't know how to-"

The woman laughed politely a bit before saying, "How to get on the platform? Not to worry. All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between nine and ten. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous."

Harry nodded and pushed his cart so that it lined up with the barrier wall. He looked back at Melanie, and when she gave him a reassuring smile, he ran straight through the barrier.

Melanie was happy that Harry got through but was now so nervous because it was her turn. Mrs. Danielson stood beside her with a supportive hand on her shoulder, but she herself looked scared.

"Now don't worry dear," the plump woman said from beside her. "You'll be perfectly alright."

Melanie smiled her thanks, as she thought she might throw up if she opened her mouth, and lined her trolley up with the wall like Harry had done. She took a long deep breath and began to push her cart towards the wall. She soon broke into a run and the trolley gained speed. She knew she was going to crash- she _was_ about to crash and closed her eyes waiting for the moment the cart came in contact with the solid brick wall.

But it never did.

Melanie opened her eyes only to find herself on another platform, already filled with other students and their families. A glistening scarlet steam engine idled at the side and the sign overhead said _Hogwarts Express 11 o'clock_. Melanie also saw that there was another sign that read _Platform Nine and Three Quarters_. She had made it.

Mrs. Danielson appeared at her side, slightly bewildered, but she seemed to regain her control and pulled Melanie along through the crowd. The smoke from the steam engine billowed like a cloud over the heads of the people waiting and the noise from laughing and talking students and their animals echoed through the platform.

Melanie looked ahead and saw Harry struggling to load his truck up the steps of an empty train compartment. She steered her cart towards him just in time to see the red-headed twins help him with his luggage.

"Hey, Harry," she said as she and Mrs. Danielson attempted to get her trunk onto the train, but having as much luck as Harry.

"Here," said one of the twins. He grabbed hold of a handle while his brother grabbed the other and they pulled it onto the train.

Melanie blushed as they bowed to her and left them to go over to their mother. Mrs. Danielson turned to Melanie and said, "Now take care. Write as much as possible, you know the girls will want to hear from you. And make sure to try your hardest and study, though I know you will. Stay out of trouble, alright?"

"Yes, I will. Tell everyone I'll miss them, especially Faye," Melanie said.

Mrs. Danielson nodded and gave Melanie a hug. "Remember I'm proud of you," she said as she pulled away. Melanie smiled and turned to get on the train.

She found Harry sitting alone in one of the train compartments and walked in. Melanie knew it must have been hard on him, watching all the other children and their parents and knowing that he didn't have his own there to say goodbye. Even though her parents were dead as well, at least she had someone she could consider a mother to take proper care of her and watch her off on her way to school.

Melanie sat down beside him and he turned his gaze away from the window. "We're finally here," Melanie said. "I thought this day would never come!" she laughed.

Harry laughed too. "Well I hope we're in the same house, or whatever. You're the only friend I have here right now," he told her.

Melanie went a little pink and he must have noticed because he laughed even harder. She glared at him and playfully hit him on the arm.

Suddenly the door of the compartment slid open and the youngest red-headed boy, Ronald, came in.

"Anyone sitting there?" he asked pointing to the seat across from Harry. "Everywhere else is full."

Harry shook his head and the boy sat down. Melanie saw that he looked at Harry a little while longer and then quickly looked out the window, pretending that he hadn't looked at all.

After a while the boy looked back over at Harry and said, "I'm Ron Weasley."

"Harry Potter," Harry answered.

Ron's eyes widened. "So do you really have the-the," he said pointing to Harry's forehead. Melanie suddenly remembered the unusual scar on Harry's forehead that she hadn't asked about. But now, she was even more curious about it.

Harry lifted up the fringe of his hair and showed Ron the lightning shaped scar. Ron gawked at it for a while. "So that's where You-Know-Who-?"

"Yeah," Harry said, "but I can't remember anything though."

"Wow," was the answer Harry got. Ron then seemed to realize that someone else was in the compartment with them and turned to Melanie. "Who are you?" he asked rather bluntly.

Melanie glared at him before answering, "My name is Melanie…Danielson."

She could feel Harry's eyes on her, but chose to ignore it. She had decided that if she was to be a normal student at Hogwarts, she needed to act like one and that meant she had to have a last name, though it felt strange to have a surname.

As they talked, the train carried them out of London and they found themselves speeding past vast open fields. Around half past twelve there was a loud clattering outside their door and someone knocked. The door opened and revealed a smiling, dimpled woman who said, "Anything off the trolley dears?"

Melanie remained seated because she had no extra money to buy anything with and Ron mumbled something about sandwiches. Harry however leap up from his seat and went out into the corridor.

When Harry returned, his arms were laden with many different sweets and he tipped it all onto an empty seat.

"Hungry are you?" Ron asked.

"Starving," said Harry taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pastry.

Melanie laughed and helped herself to a cauldron cake, knowing that Harry wouldn't mind. Ron on the other hand, began to unwrap a lumpy package and pulled out four sandwiches. Harry looked at him and then offered him something from his pile. At first Ron refused, but after a while of persuading he gave in and picked up a pastry.

They were sitting together laughing and eating Harry's huge mountain of candy when Harry picked up a pack of Chocolate Frogs and asked, "They're not _really_ frogs, are they?"

Melanie was glad he asked because she had been avoiding them for that same reason. She was pretty sure that nothing would surprise her now.

"No," said Ron. "But see what the card is, I'm missing Agrippa.'

"What?"

Ron looked up at him and Melanie to see confusion written on both of their faces. "Oh, of course, you wouldn't know – Chocolate Frogs have cards inside them, you know, to collect – famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy."

Melanie watched as Harry unwrapped one and then said, "So _this_ is Dumbledore!"

"Don't tell me you've never heard of Dumbledore!" said Ron. "Can I have a frog? I might get Agrippa – thanks –"

Harry read the card and Melanie said afterwards, "I've met him before. He came to see me at the orphanage and told me I was a witch. Bit strange, but he seemed – "

"What!" Ron exclaimed. Melanie gave him a questioning look and he said, "Dumbledore visited you! That's big!"

Melanie pondered over this and picked up a Chocolate Frog.

The countryside was flying passed the window when Melanie finally asked about the rat that was fast asleep on Ron's lap.

"Oh, this is Scabbers. Been in the family for ages! He was my brother, Percy's, rat but then I got him. Dead useless!" Ron said looking at the snoozing rodent with disgust.

Harry and Melanie looked at him sympathetically, they both had come to learn that Ron's family wasn't the wealthiest, but Ron's attitude changed and he looked up at them excitedly.

"My brothers taught me a spell to turn him yellow. Wanna see?"

Melanie and Harry nodded in interest. Ron pulled out a battered looking wand and raised his wand when the compartment door slid open. A girl already wearing her Hogwarts robes stood in the doorway.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said looking around at them. Melanie noticed that she had a bossy sort of voice and lots of bushy brown hair. The girl saw Ron with his wand out and said, "Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see then!"

Ron looked taken aback but cleared his throat. "Sunshine, daises, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow," he chanted waving his wand. But nothing happened.

The girl raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you sure that's a real spell? Well its not very good is it? I've only tried a few simple spells, but they've all worked for me," she told them. She walked into the compartment and sat down across from Harry. "For example, _Occulus Reparo_," she said pointing her wand at Harry's face. Melanie gasped slightly but the girl just muttered a spell and his glasses fixed themselves. Harry took them off and looked them over leaving his scar to be seen.

"Holy cricket! You're Harry Potter!" the girl exclaimed. "I'm Hermione Granger – and you are?" she asked looking at Ron, who had stuffed another pastry in his mouth.

"Ron Weasley," he said, but it was muffled by the cake.

"Pleasure," Hermione said in disgust. She then looked at Melanie who said, "Melanie Danielson."

Hermione shook Melanie's hand and then stood up. "You three had best be getting into your robes. I expect we'll be arriving soon," she informed them.

She walked towards the compartment door before turning around to look at Ron. "You've got dirt on your nose, by the way. Did you know? Just there," she said pointing to her own nose where she saw the smudge.

Hermione left, leaving Ron frantically rubbing his nose. "Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it." Melanie and Harry nodded in agreement.

They pulled their school robes from their trunk and pulled them on over their heads just as the train began to slow. Finally the train stopped and they opened the door to see a great flow of people pushing their way off the train. Melanie was immediately separated from Harry and Ron and had no choice but to follow the other students off of the train.

When she reached the tiny, dark platform she looked around for Harry and Ron but couldn't make them out in the crowd. Melanie saw a glowing lamp bobbing over the heads of the students and saw that it was being carried by the giant form of Hagrid.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" he boomed.

Melanie pushed through the crowd until he could see her. "There yeh are Melanie! Been wonderin' when I'd see yeh again. Where's Harry?"

"I dunno, he was with – "

"Alright there Harry?" Hagrid called over her. Melanie turned around to see Harry and Ron shoving their way through the crowd. Harry smiled at her muttering a short sorry, but she only laughed at him.

"Okay, firs' years follow me!" Hagrid bellowed as he started off down the path with Melanie, Harry, and Ron leading the rest of the group. They followed Hagrid down a steep narrow path, slipping and stumbling all the way down. Melanie nearly tumbled a few times herself, but Harry or Ron caught her before she could hit the ground.

They had been walking for some while when Hagrid bellowed over their heads, announcing to the group that they would get their first glimpse at Hogwarts in a few moments. The anticipation grew in Melanie's stomach to the point where she found it difficult to concentrate on much else.

Soon enough, the narrow path opened around the edge of a wide lake the moon glittering off its surface. Melanie could see the vast castle with many turrets and towers perched atop a high mountain on the other end of the lake, its many windows glowing like bright stars against a dark backdrop.

Hagrid instructed that there could be no more than four to a boat, which were all lined up like a tiny fleet along the shore. Harry, Ron, and Melanie made their way over to one, followed by Hermione, who sat in the back with her while the boys sat up front.

The boats glided across their lake on their on accord and Melanie and Hermione took the chance to talk. At first it was a shaky conversation, as Melanie didn't know what to say, but Hermione took over and Melanie grew more comfortable. She also soon learned that Hermione was not as bossy as she first thought, but that a strong air of knowledge came off of her. Melanie was actually quite fascinated by all that Hermione told her about the school and the wizarding world in general. That was why she was so surprised when Hermione told her that her parents were Muggles. Obviously, she had done some summer reading.

When the army of wooden boats reached the castle, Melanie saw that there was someone waiting for them already. A tall, dark haired witch stood there clad in emerald green robes. Her face was stern and looked like someone you certainly did not want to cross. Hagrid introduced her as Professor McGonagall and she led the students through the castle doors and into the entrance hall. Melanie's first thought was that it was as magnificent as Gringotts, if not more so.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall said when she had everyone's wandering attention. "The feast shall begin shortly, but first you must be sorted into your houses. Your house will be something like your family at Hogwarts, whether you be in Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin."

At that point Melanie looked over to Harry who was looking back at her. They both remembered the conversation with the boy from Diagon Alley and both hoped that they were put into a house that was not the latter.

"While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn you house points, while any rule breaking will lose points. The house with the most points at the end of the year is awarded the House Cup. The ceremony will begin shortly, if you will please wait here." McGonagall told them before leaving the students in the hall.

Hermione began to chatter very quickly about something that Melanie could not quite understand, as her thoughts were elsewhere. How were they to be sorted? Around her she heard mumbles about some test, but she dismissed that. They wouldn't make her do a test in front of the entire school. Would they?

Just then she caught a glimpse of white blond hair and a pale complexion as the boy from Diagon Alley stepped forward with two much larger boys following him.

"So it's true then, what they were saying on the train" the boy sneered looking directly at Harry. Melanie stepped closer to him ready to defend him if it was needed and noticed Ron do the same. "Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts."

Everyone began mumbling excitedly and looking around, trying to find the Boy-Who-Lived. Harry just continued to glare at the boy in front of him.

"These are Crabbe and Goyle," the boy said gesturing to each of the 'bodyguards' on either side of him. "And I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."

On Harry's other side Ron coughed, but it was too obvious that he was trying to hide a snicker. Melanie might have laughed too, if she didn't feel the seriousness of the situation.

Malfoy turned to glare at Ron instead. "Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask yours. Red hair… and a hand-me-down robe, you must be a Weasley," he sneered.

"Back off Malfoy!" Melanie warned not really knowing what had gotten into her. One thing was for sure, she wasn't about to sit and watch her friends be insulted.

She soon found his glare on her as well as the eyes of most of the hall. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ron looking at her with admiration and Harry watching her carefully. He shifted closer to her as if to protect her, but she seemed to be the only one who noticed.

"Its you again. What's your name?" Malfoy sneered looking at her with distaste.

Melanie stared right back at him and said, "Melanie Danielson." She was surprised at how the lie slipped off her tongue so easily now.

Malfoy studied her for a moment. "Never heard of a _good_ wizarding family with the name Danielson. You must be a half-blood, or worse," he said in a tone as if he was now repulsed be her very presence. She wanted so badly to teach him a lesson.

"You'll soon find out that some wizarding families are better than others, Potter," Malfoy said turning his attention back to Harry. "You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort," he looked pointedly at Ron and Melanie as he said this. "I can help you there."

Malfoy held his hand out for Harry to shake and Melanie mentally begged him not to take it. He didn't.

"I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself thanks," Harry said as politely as possible, but the intent was still the same. Melanie grinned at him, and it turned to a smirk as she looked at Malfoy. Malfoy looked ready to shout, but was stopped when Professor McGonagall re-entered the hall.

"They're ready for you now," she said opening the door wider allowing the students to walk in. Melanie was sure she made a scene of smirking at Malfoy as she passed him, but she didn't care. Her point was made.

They entered the hall in one big mass every single one of them amazed by what they saw. The Great Hall was lit by thousands of white candles that floated over four long wooden tables where all the students sat. At the front of the hall there was another long table where all of the teachers sat. Professor McGonagall led them towards this table and stopped when she had reached it. The first years filled in along the edge of the table, many of them trying to avoid the stares of the other curious students in the hall.

As the students looked around nervously, Melanie turned to Hermione was standing beside her. "Is the ceiling always like that?" she asked looking up at the velvety darkness that was dotted with stars.

Hermione followed her gaze and then said, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside, I read about it in _Hogwarts: A History_."

"So in the morning…?"

"It should be a clear sky, depending on the weather of course," Hermione said.

Melanie nodded her understanding and then turned her attention to Professor McGonagall.

"Now before we begin, Professor Dumbledore would like to say a few words," she said.

Every student in the Hall turned their attention to the long staff table, where Professor Dumbledore stood.

"I have a few start-of-term notices I wish to announce," he said clearly. It surprised Melanie how his voice traveled across the room, even when he looked so old and fragile. "The first years," he continued, "please note, that the Dark Forest is strictly forbidden to all students. Also our caretaker, Mr. Filch, has asked me to remind you that the third floor corridor, on the right hand side, is out of bounds to everyone who do not wish to die a most painful death. Thank you."

Well, that was putting it bluntly. Not the warmest welcome she had ever heard, but she supposed it got the point across. The only problem was Melanie didn't know where the third floor corridor was.

Melanie's attention was then drawn to a single stool placed in front of the first year students. Sitting on top of it was a pointed wizard's hat that was extremely patched and dirty and fraying around the edges. As she stared at it, Melanie saw a rip at the bottom of the hat open wide like a mouth and the hat began to…sing?

Yes, it was a song. Melanie was completely baffled. Nothing could have prepared her for this. She blinked a few times and rubbed her eyes. Yes, the hat was still singing. She looked over to Harry who seemed just as surprised as she was, Ron who looked as if he expected this but was still shocked, and Hermione who was the only relatively un-shocked first year.

When the hat ended it song the whole hall applauded. It took a while for the hall to come to silence, but when it did Professor McGonagall spoke up. "Now when I call your name, you will come forth, I shall place the Sorting Hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your houses."

Melanie relaxed slightly. So there wasn't going to be a big test. She just had to wear the strange hat while everyone else watched. Wonderful.

McGonagall called up the first girl by the name of Hannah Abbott and she was promptly sorted into Hufflepuff. One table to her right cheered and clapped and Melanie let out a sigh of relief. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard and her house would welcome her the same way.

They had just gotten half way through the 'C' names and Melanie suddenly began to panic. She had just noticed that they were being called up in alphabetical order. And she didn't have a last name.

She looked up to the staff table and a pair of crystal blue eyes caught hers. Dumbledore gave her a comforting smile and winked at her.

"Danielson, Melanie!"

Melanie had no time to feel relieved because she stepped forward and suddenly all eyes were on her. She stepped up to the stool shakily and the hat was placed on her head. The brim of the hat fell over her eyes and she pushed it back slightly. She caught a quick reassuring glance from Harry, before a voice filled the inside of the hat.

"Well, well. What do we have here? A clever mind I see, but also a loyal heart. Plenty of courage of course, and the thirst to find yourself. You should do well in any of the houses. Very difficult…"

Melanie waited for the decision, her heart pounding faster with every second that ticked by. She hoped she would be with her friends. She honestly didn't care about which house she was in as long as it was with Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"Umm…yes, I know. I'll put you in GRYFFINDOR!"

A roar erupted from the far left table and Melanie let out the breath she was holding. She nearly flung the hat off her head and jumped off the stool before running over to the table where many of the students were standing and clapping wildly. Melanie noticed Ron's brothers, Fred and George, and smiled when they waved to her in unison. She took her place at the table and turned to watch the rest of the sorting.

A few more people joined her at the table, but she clapped the loudest when Hermione skipped down to sit on her other side. Melanie wasn't the only one who noticed that when Malfoy's name was called the hat barely skimmed his head and he was put in Slytherin. What a shock.

Finally Harry's name was called and Melanie sat up a little straighter. She hoped he was put into her house. They would still be friends if he wasn't but…

Everyone else in the hall seemed to have their entire focus on him as Harry placed the hat on his head and sat on the stool. Melanie crossed her fingers under the table and waited as the silence filled the room. After a while, the hat 'looked' up and shouted "GRYFFINDOR!"

Melanie jumped out of her seat and cheered and clapped as Harry made his way over to the table. It seemed the entire table wanted to shake his hand because it took quite a long time for him to finally sit down across from her. When he did he grinned at her and she smiled right back before turning to watch the rest of the sorting. 

When Ron's name was called Melanie cheered just as hard as she had for the others when he was also sorted into Gryffindor. Dumbledore said a few words and then the tables filled with food. Everything you could ever crave sat before her and Melanie suddenly realized how hungry she was, their mini feast seemed so far away now.

Melanie helped herself to a generous amount of food, taking a little bit of all her favorites (along with an extra helping of potatoes). She soon learned that Ron had grown up without table manners, or he simply forgot them, as he stuffed his face with everything he could reach. Hermione looked repulsed and tried to distract herself by talking to Melanie. Harry joined in the conversation occasionally, but he too seemed to concentrate on his food. The remains of the food disappeared only to be replaced by the puddings. Melanie took a slice of apple pie, which she became consumed in as soon as the conversation turned to families.

Neville had just finished talking about how he lived with his Gran and how she cried when she found out he would be going to Hogwarts, when Ron turned to Melanie.

"What about you Melanie? You never said anything about your family on the train," he said before stuffing his face with a tart.

Melanie looked at Harry, who looked back worriedly, before she said, "Well…I have lots of sisters. Most of them are older than me though."

"Ohyoutoo!" Ron exclaimed with a full mouth. She assumed that he was referring to the large number of siblings.

Melanie just nodded and hoped that the conversation was over.

"What about your parents? Both wizards?" Seamus asked.

Melanie nodded again, trying to look natural and muttered a small, "Yep."

They seemed to leave her alone after that and moved onto something else. Melanie was relieved that they had, she didn't want to have to tell the whole of Gryffindor that she was an orphan and never knew her parents or her last name. She looked at Harry and saw that he too looked relieved for her.

Ron's older brother Percy, who was also a Gryffindor prefect, led them to the Gryffindor Common Room. They walked together in a group, but somehow Harry managed to pull Melanie away from the group slightly.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," Melanie answered, curious as to what he was talking about. The lies she had told in the Great Hall, or the fact that she still thought this was a dream.

"The talk at dinner. About your family," he continued.

Melanie looked at her feet as she answered. "I don't like lying, but I didn't want to tell everyone that I have no idea who my parents are…were. I don't want the attention," she said.

They walked in silence for a while and then Harry said, "You didn't lie really. I mean think about it, you do have a lot of sisters, which was the truth. And yes, we know your parents were both magic. So really, you didn't lie at all!"

Melanie laughed at his attempt to cheer her up. "I guess I didn't. Thanks Harry," she said sincerely. He grinned back at her, blushing a little.

"Oi! You two at the back! Hurry up now!" Percy called.

Harry and Melanie just smiled at each other before racing back towards the group.


	3. Discoveries and Rescues

**Chapter 3: Discoveries, and Rescues**

The sun shone brightly through the window next to her bed, and Melanie groaned into her pillow. Why must she get up today? It's not like they were doing anything. She and Faye would just hang around the orphanage, not really anything of importance.

Melanie sat up in her bed and slowly opened her eyes. It took a while for them to adjust to the sudden light but when they did she furrowed her eyebrows. Since when did the home get crimson bed curtains? Melanie was about to crash back down onto her bed to _fully_ wake up, when the curtains were ripped open.

"C'mon Melanie! We need to go down to breakfast or we'll be late for classes!"

Melanie looked up at the joyous face of Hermione and pinched herself. Hermione gave her a strange look as Melanie felt around the bed and her side table.

"What are you doing?" she asked hesitantly.

Melanie looked up at her for a few moments before saying, "I'm not dreaming am I?"

Hermione laughed and pulled the curtains the rest of the way back before turning to the next bed. Melanie slowly and carefully pulled herself out of her bed. She really wasn't dreaming. It was all real. She was at Hogwarts.

Hermione, who was fully dressed, sat down on her bed next to Melanie's and opened up one of their school books. Melanie looked around and saw that two other girls, Lavender Brown and Padma Patil, were also busy getting ready. She got off her bed and walked over to her truck, where she pulled out her school uniform.

When she had finished dressing, Melanie walked out of the dormitory with Hermione who had decided to wait for her. They had reached the stairs when they heard the sound of voices coming from the bottom.

"She's my friend Ron, so I'm going to wait for her."

"Alright! I was just wondering…"

Melanie felt heat rise to her cheeks and hurried down before Hermione could ask any questions. Harry and Ron were waiting at the bottom for them. Harry smiled at Melanie and Melanie smiled back, but Ron just looked on with annoyance. She must have been keeping him from his breakfast.

They walked down together, earning many stares from the students who passed. Well, Harry was earning stares from the students who passed. He kept his head down the entire way to the Great Hall and did not join in the conversation as they ate breakfast. Melanie, who was sitting to his side, leaned over to whisper to him.

"Just ignore them. They don't know anything," she said in hushed tones.

Harry looked at her and gave her a weak smile before turning back to his eggs.

Melanie spent the rest of the week learning the different routes of the enormous castle and attempting to remember all the trick steps and the quickest way to their classes. She often walked to class with Hermione, who she was beginning to like greatly, and they were rarely late, but did have a few close calls. Harry and Ron weren't as lucky.

Melanie was also beginning to recognize more and more faces around Hogwarts. She could remember most of her fellow Gryffindor first years and a few of the older years, but she mostly hung around with Hermione, Harry, and Ron.

Classes were a more comfortable occurrence to her now, she knew exactly what to expect from the classes and exactly what the teachers expected from her. Her favorite class by far was Charms, something tiny Professor Flitwick said she had a knack for. Melanie even got a few charms quicker than Hermione, who was titled the smartest girl by the end of the first week.

History of Magic painfully reminded Melanie of all the tours of museums she had been on with Mrs. Danielson. It was a good chance to catch up on her sleep though.

Transfiguration was something Melanie also enjoyed, but she had to work harder at it than she did in charms. Professor McGonagall had told them that transfiguration was some of the most complex and dangerous spellwork they would learn at Hogwarts. Melanie was strangely excited.

Defense Against the Dark Arts was a close second favorite of Melanie's, though she thought Professor Quirrell's lessons were a bit of a joke. He told far too many far-fetched stories for any of them to be real, and the garlic stench that wafted around the room was enough to make her eyes water.

Friday morning came and Melanie and Hermione were sitting at the Gryffindor table enjoying their breakfast, when Harry and Ron came in with the biggest grins on their faces.

"Made it without getting lost?" Melanie asked. She couldn't help but smile at them, they had gotten lost on their way to breakfast everyday that week.

"You know it," Ron said grinning from ear to ear.

As he reached for a bowl of porridge, Harry asked, "What have we got today?"

"Double Potions with the Slytherins," said Ron. "Snape's Head of Slytherin House. They say he always favors them – we'll be able to see if it's true."

"Wish McGonagall favored us," Harry said.

Melanie nodded. Professor McGonagall was Head of Gryffindor House, but it hadn't stopped her from giving them a huge pile of homework the day before.

Hermione and Melanie began their own conversation about their Charms class (the only one Melanie ever liked to talk about) just as the morning post arrived. The first day this had happened, Melanie had a bit of a shock when hundreds of owls swooped into the hall, dropping packages and letters right onto their owner's plates. Melanie hadn't expected anything from the orphanage, seeing as they didn't have an owl to send anything to her, and she had been too busy with homework to have the time to write to them. Harry hadn't gotten anything either, and Melanie could tell by the look on his face that he never really expected anything to ever come for him.

They soon left the Great Hall to walk down to the dungeons where their potions class was. They all waited in the line outside the class door all chattering away about their first week. But as soon as Professor Snape came out of the room, they all fell silent.

They entered the room in the same silence and sat down at a table. Harry and Melanie sat beside each other, and Hermione and Ron behind them. The silence was suffocating the room and Melanie couldn't stand it. Even in the other classes, the teachers allowed some whispering, but Snape seemed not to tolerate it.

"I don't expect any of you to understand the exact art of potion making," Snape began. "But, I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses."

Melanie looked to her side and saw Harry with his quill out scratching down every word that Snape spoke. She wondered briefly if she should do the same, but decided that she could just ask Hermione later if she forgot.

"I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death."

Melanie looked up at Snape to find him glaring at Harry. The Slytherins sitting at the front sneered and grinned when they saw where their beloved Professor was looking.

"Then again," he said walking toward their table. "Perhaps some of you believe that you are smart enough…to not pay attention!"

Melanie looked over to Harry and saw that he was still writing. She gave him a quick nudge causing him to look up and see the Professor's eyes on him. Harry looked right back and Melanie knew in an instant that this would go from bad to worse very quickly.

"Mr. Potter. Our new – celebrity," Snape sneered. At the front she saw Malfoy, along with his blundering bodyguards, sniggering at Harry.

"Tell me, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to and infusion of wormwood?" Snape asked Harry in a voice that stated he clearly knew Harry did not know the answer. Behind them, Hermione's hand shot up high in the air. Harry looked at Melanie to see if she knew the answer, but she helplessly shook her head.

"I don't know, sir," Harry said.

Snape's lips curled into a sneer. "Hmm, let's try again. Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

Again Hermione's hand shot up, but Snape ignored it. Melanie tried not to look at the front of the class where the Slytherins were shaking with laughter.

"I don't know, sir," Harry said again.

Long before this point did Melanie realize she hated the Potions Master.

"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?" Snape continued.

Hermione raised her hand and again it was ignored.

"I don't know," Harry answered in a tone that said he was fed up with questions. "I'm pretty sure Hermione does, why don't you try her?"

Snape swooped over to their table, his long black cloak billowing behind him, and stared right down at Harry. "For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying this down?"

Melanie reached down into her bag, cursing Snape under her breath. She pulled out a quill and parchment just as Snape said, "Five points will be taken from Gryffindor, for your classmate's cheek."

The rest of the class wasn't much better for Harry or any of the Gryffindors.

They left the dungeon in a foul mood, but cheered up immensely when they reached the warm fire in the Gryffindor Common Room.

The next morning Melanie slept in as late as she could, before heading down to breakfast with Hermione. The boys were already there, half way done their meal, when they sat down at the table.

"Did you see the notice?" Harry asked Melanie sourly before she could even take a seat.

"What notice?"

"Flying lessons with the Slytherins! You'd think the teachers would understand we hate each other!" Ron exclaimed.

Melanie looked sympathetically at them, knowing that they dreaded the idea of being stuck with the Slytherins. Not that she didn't, the very idea of spending an hour with Malfoy made her skin crawl, but she felt the hate wasn't rooted as deep for her as it was for them. Yet.

Suddenly the post arrived and a tawny brown owl flew down and dropped a paper on Hermione's lap. Melanie looked at it questioningly, until Hermione explained that she got a subscription to the _Daily Prophet_, the British wizarding newspaper.

Melanie sat quietly listening to Harry and Ron go on about their hate for the Slytherins, while Hermione flipped through the paper. She placed it on the table when she was done, only for it to be picked up by Harry. While they were talking, they were joined by Neville, Seamus, and another Gryffindor first year named Dean Thomas.

At this point Neville opened up a package from his Gran and pulled out a small glass ball filled with grey smoke.

"I know what that is! That's a Remembrall!" Dean exclaimed.

"When you've forgotten something, the smoke inside turns red," Hermione said as a matter of fact.

"The only problem is, I don't remember what I've forgotten!" Neville exclaimed as the smoke turned a dark red shade.

"Melanie!"

Melanie looked over to Harry, who was looking at the paper with wide eyes.

"What is it?" she asked in a concerned fashion.

Harry pushed the paper into her hands. She looked down at a moving picture of a few goblins looking utterly dumbfounded in front of a vault door at Gringotts. Melanie thought that the vault looked familiar and read the headline.

_GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST_

"A break-in? How? I thought Hagrid said it was impossible," Melanie said her eyes still trained on the picture. It looked familiar…but it couldn't be.

"Keep reading," Harry insisted.

"Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on the 31 July, widely believed to be the work of Dark wizards and witches unknown," she read aloud. Ron and Hermione were also listening and both looked confused as to why Harry and Melanie were so interested. "The 31st? Isn't that-?"

"Go on."

"Gringotts' goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. Vault 713 had in fact been emptied the same day. 713? That's the vault Hagrid emptied!" Melanie said, though only loud enough for them to hear.

"I know. Remember Hagrid wouldn't tell us what was in the vault? Whatever it was, someone was trying to steal it," Harry told her.

Melanie nodded her head. "But why? What could be so important that someone would risk breaking into Gringotts for it?"

Harry shook his head. "I don't know."

That afternoon, Melanie followed the others out of the castle and onto the Hogwarts grounds for their first flying lesson. She was actually quite excited. Ever since she had seen the broom shop in Diagon Alley, she had been wondering what it would be like to fly through the air like a bird. Now she was going to learn how.

They walked over to where the Slytherins and their teacher Madam Hooch were waiting and they each stepped up to one of the school brooms that were laying motionless on the ground. Melanie stood beside Harry, who looked as excited as she felt, and Neville, who looked like he was about to throw up.

"Stick your right hand out over your broom," Madam Hooch instructed, "and say 'Up!'"

"UP!" everyone shouted.

Harry's broom flew up from the ground and right into his hand. Melanie looked at him in amazement. Hers had only got a few inches off the ground before it gave up and plummeted back down. Melanie tried again, determined not to be the last to do this, and this time her broom jumped right into her hand. She grinned at Harry and he grinned back, both pleased that they had been first to accomplish the task.

When everyone had managed to get a hold of their brooms (Neville had been the last one trying and Madam Hooch had to ask him to just pick it up) Madam Hooch told them how to mount their brooms and grip it correctly. Melanie felt a little better when she had been told that she was doing it right, only she needed to grip the handle tighter. She couldn't help but snigger with Harry and Ron when Madam Hooch had told Malfoy that he had been doing it wrong for years.

"Now when I blow my whistle, I want you to kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. Melanie looked excitedly to her side where Harry looked just as excited. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle – three – two –"

Beside her Neville jumped off the ground before the whistle blew and began to rise up.

"Get back boy!" Madam Hooch called, but Neville seemed to have no control of his broom at all. He continued to rise up, Madam Hooch continuing to call, twelve feet – twenty feet. Melanie looked on helplessly as Neville gasped and slipped sideways of the side of his broom. He fell straight down, too quickly for Melanie to catch, and the next thing she knew there was a sickening crack and Neville lay face down in the grass.

Madam Hooch and the Gryffindors ran over to him (the Slytherins had decided to stay behind) where he lay in a heap on the ground. Madam Hooch bent over Neville and helped him sit up. Melanie heard her mutter something like, "Tut, tut – broken wrist," before she helped him up and turned to the rest of the class.

"None of you is to move while I take him to the hospital wing. If I see a single foot off the ground you'll be out of Hogwarts faster than you can say 'Quidditch'" she said before leading Neville off back into the school.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Malfoy burst into laughter.

"Did you see his face?" he laughed before picking up Neville's Remembrall off the ground and tossing it into the air. "Maybe if the fat lump had given this a squeeze, he would have remembered to fall on his fat ass."

"Give it here Malfoy!" Harry demanded, walking forward towards him. The rest of the Gryffindors followed behind him, Ron and Melanie on either side and Hermione closely behind.

Malfoy smiled nastily. He stepped onto the end of his broom and it rose a few feet off the ground with grace. If she had to admit anything, Melanie could admit that he was the most skilled flyer there. "I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find it – how about on the roof!" He rose higher into the air before calling down to the rest of them. "What's the matter? Scared Potter!"

Harry grabbed his broom and mounted it just as Hermione grabbed his arm. "No! Madam Hooch told us not to move – you'll be expelled!"

Harry ignored her and kicked off the ground flying unsteadily towards Malfoy.

"What an Idiot," Hermione said.

Melanie watched as Harry and Malfoy faced each other, and she hoped that they got this out of the way before Madam Hooch could see.

"Give it here Malfoy, or I'll knock you off your broom!" Harry shouted lunging forward on his broom in an attempt to snatch the fragile glass object from Malfoy's hand. Malfoy rolled sideways on his broom, causing Harry to fly past him. Harry regained his balance just in time to see Malfoy smirk and chuck the Remembrall as hard and as far as he could.

Melanie gasped as Harry leaned flat against his broom and sped forward after the tiny glass ball. He was crazy! His first flying lesson and he's up twenty feet or more in the air chasing a stupid glass sphere! What was he thinking?!

Harry was gathering speed while heading towards a solid stone wall. Melanie knew that even if he did catch Neville's Remembrall, he wouldn't be able to pull out of his dive in time. Unconsciously, Melanie let out a scream, but when she heard herself she was shocked. So was Ron. He just looked at her in amused amazement. Did she just cheer Harry on? He was about to die and she just yelled 'Go Harry!' She had some serious problems.

She watched as Harry reached for the ball when it was only an inch from the ground. His fingers wrapped around it, but he was still speeding towards the wall. Melanie wanted to close her eyes, she would have given anything to have closed her eyes, but she looked on in horror.

He grabbed the end of the broom handle and jerked it back so he was level with the wall and came to a sudden stop. Melanie was pretty sure her heart came to a sudden stop as well. She was also pretty sure she broke the awed silence by cheering and clapping. Ron soon joined and soon the entire Gryffindor house was applauding the spectacular display. The Slytherins looked utterly devastated.

Harry flew a short way towards them until he stumbled from his broom and ran the rest of the way to the cheering group. Melanie ran forward and launched herself onto him, giving him a tight hug.

"That was brilliant Harry!" she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Thanks Mel," he stuttered. He seemed to be just as astounded as the rest of the group.

Melanie suddenly realized that she was _hugging_ Harry in front of the entire Gryffindor and Slytherin Houses and pulled away from him quickly, pink in the face. He was a faint shade of pink as well.

"Don't you ever, ever do that again!" Melanie said as the rest of the House began to surround them.

Harry just laughed.

The rest of the House came to congratulate Harry and Melanie stepped quietly away. Hermione was at the back of the group, neither condemning nor congratulating the fact that Harry had just broken the rules. When Melanie stood beside her, she could feel Hermione's stare on her. She looked over to Hermione to see a grin on her face.

"What?" Melanie snapped, though she didn't intentionally mean to.

Hermione appeared unaffected by her harshness and continued to smile. "Oh…nothing," she uttered loud enough for Melanie to hear.

Melanie scowled at her and opened her mouth to retort back, but was interrupted by a shrill voice.

"HARRY POTTER!"

Melanie looked up to see Professor McGonagall running towards them, burning a direct path to Harry. Everyone saw her gaze and cleared a path for her, but Melanie did the opposite. She left Hermione's side and walked over to Harry's.

"Never – in all my years at Hogwarts –," McGonagall scolded. Melanie made it to Harry's side to hear Professor McGonagall say, "– how dare you – might have broken your neck – "

"It wasn't his fault, Professor!" Melanie said cutting her short.

McGonagall gave her a stern look. "Be quiet, Miss Danielson –"

"But Malfoy-!"

"That's enough, Miss Danielson! Potter, follow me, now," Professor McGonagall said, nearly dragging Harry away back into the castle.

Melanie was about to start after them again, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"There's nothing we can do. He's done for," Ron told her, visibly gulping at the thought.

She refused to believe him, but decided Harry would be no better off if she burst into Dumbledore's office and started screaming. Hermione appeared at her side and grabbed her arm to lead her away, probably back to the Common Room. Ron followed on her other side, at least two feet away, acting as if she would explode at any moment. Melanie couldn't blame him; she even considered warning Hermione to tread lightly as well. But, she decided to try and take deep breaths and calm herself before she became hazardous.

That didn't work out so well.

They had just entered the Common Room when Melanie couldn't handle it anymore.

"They can't expel him! He was doing the right thing! Malfoy should be the one to be expelled! He threw the bloody thing in the first place!" she shouted causing those around the room to look up from their places.

"We know Melanie," Hermione replied calmly. "Malfoy started it. But Harry should have known better, he should have let the teachers handle it."

"How can you take their side?! What was Harry supposed to do, let Malfoy break it?!" Melanie hollered.

A few students got up and left while the others gave her looks that stated they were questioning her sanity. Melanie didn't give any mind to either. All that mattered right now was that Harry was not expelled.

"I'm not taking sides, Mel! It was wrong for Malfoy to do that, yes, but it was wrong for Harry to get involved as well," Hermione told her, trying to avoid further argument.

Melanie gave her a withering look for not taking her side and then shot a glance at Ron, who was pretending to be invisible off to the side.

"And you? Do you think Harry should be expelled too?" she hissed.

Apparently Ron wasn't sure of how to answer that because he glanced right at the floor and immediately took interest in his shoelaces. Melanie turned away from him and back to Hermione, who looked so frightened she was on the verge of tears.

"It's not fair! They can't! It's madness! It's…"

The sound of the portrait hole flying open stopped her mid-sentence and she spun around quickly. Harry jumped into the Common Room, with a grin plastered on his face, but stopped at the sight of a cowering Ron and Hermione and a slightly livid Melanie. Melanie strode towards him, completely unaware that she was making a scene.

"Harry, they can't do this! It wasn't your fault!"

"I know. Look…"

"I'll tell Dumbledore myself! I'll go right now in fact!"

"Mel, I'm not…"

"He _has_ to understand! Malfoy's the one who…!"

"MELANIE!"

Melanie stood before him somewhat afraid, but more confused than anything else. She knew that Dumbledore would understand if he knew the whole story. But why was Harry stopping her?

"I'm not being expelled," Harry informed her. He walked by her and sat on the couch where Hermione and Ron followed, as silent as the grave. Melanie took a moment to think about what he said before turning around to stand in front of the three.

"What do you mean you're not being expelled?" she asked quietly, now realizing that she made a fool out of herself.

"McGonagall wasn't taking me to Dumbledore to be expelled. We didn't even go near his office," Harry said.

Ron gave her a look that said 'I-told-you-so' before he asked Harry where they had gone then.

"She took me to Quirrell's class and asked for Wood. First I thought they were going to make a fire and burn me or something, but it was a student. Oliver Wood he's the – "

"The Gryffindor Quidditch Captain!" Ron interrupted. Melanie faintly wondered how Ron knew these things, but couldn't be bothered with it. "Why'd she want him?"

Harry looked around to see if anyone was listening (which they weren't) and beckoned Melanie closer. She leaned towards them just as he said, "They want me to play Seeker for them. For the team."

Honestly, Melanie didn't know what to say. She knew too little about Quidditch yet to know what a "Seeker" even was – she vaguely thought perhaps that was like a towel-boy for Muggle football – so she looked to Ron and Hermione for help. Hermione's face held a look of doubting, while Ron looked as if someone had told him Christmas was coming early that year.

"You're joking," Ron scoffed, but when Harry shook his head Ron's face immediately lit up. "_Seeker_? But first years _never_…you must be the youngest player in…"

"A century. Wood told me," Harry finished.

They seemed to know what was going on, and clearly she didn't, so Melanie made a mental note to ask Hermione later. She sat down in a stuffed armchair beside the couch, feeling ashamed of the way she had acted earlier. She looked on as Ron watched Harry so amazed, so impressed, that he could only sit and gape at him. Hermione, on the other hand, had her face screwed up in concentration trying to figure out how it could all be possible.

"I start training next week," Harry said. "Only don't tell anyone. Wood wants to keep it a secret."

They had all nodded when Fred and George Weasley walked into the room, identical grins on their faces.

"Well done mate! Wood just told us," George (at least Melanie thought it was George) congratulated.

"We're on the team too – Beaters!" Fred said.

"Our job is to make sure you don't get bloodied up too bad."

"Can't make any promises though."

"Don't worry; no one's died in ages!"

"Some go missing…"

"But they turn up in a month or two!"

Both boys left for the dormitories, leaving Harry looking a little less excited.

"Don't mind them. It'll be brilliant Harry!" Ron said as if pleading with him to join the team.

Harry looked over at Melanie, who smiled encouragingly, though she didn't quite know what she was encouraging him to do. After a second of thought he smiled back and then turned to Ron.

"I think you'll have to explain the rules."

For some reason, Melanie thought Ron couldn't be happier.

The next few weeks passed slowly for Melanie as classes became a regular occurrence and the things that shocked her the first few days were now considered somewhat 'normal' in her opinion. Harry began Quidditch training sooner than they expected and it wasn't long before he and Ron thought of nothing else. Hermione often scolded them on not paying more attention to their work, but Melanie found her mind also wandering.

She missed her family at the orphanage. This was the first time that she could remember ever being away from them and it was beginning to make her feel homesick. The wonder of magic could no longer hold her attention long enough to distract her from thinking about all of her sisters and Mrs. Danielson. She wondered how Faye was doing, if she was enjoying her own school, and if she was still upset that Melanie had left her. She wanted to know if Marissa was planning another big birthday party, or an even bigger one for her sixteenth birthday. She wished she could see Mrs. Danielson again to thank her again for always being there for her. That's why she finally decided to send a letter.

At first she wasn't sure that Hedwig could make it (she had asked Harry to borrow her) , that she wouldn't know where the orphanage was, but Ron told her not to worry about it and that she would find her way there and back easier then a Niffler could find a gold coin in the side of a mountain. She didn't know what he was talking about, but trusted his judgment all the same.

However after a week of waiting she began to grow nervous again. What if Hedwig got lost? What if Mrs. Danielson didn't let her in, not knowing it had a letter?

What if they didn't want to write back?

"Melanie, it'll come! Just be patient," Hermione told her at breakfast.

Melanie wasn't sure what had caused Hermione to know she was thinking about the letter, until she looked down at her plate. The once edible looking eggs had been unknowingly prodded at until they were nothing but yellow mush. Melanie pushed her plate away, no longer having the appetite to eat, and rested her head on her hand.

"Hermione's right. It'll come," Ron said smiling at her. She smiled back just as hundreds of owls swooped into the hall. Melanie craned her neck around the hall to look for Hedwig and grinned when she came soaring down the middle of the table and dropped a letter in front of her, before taking off again. Melanie wasted no time in picking up the letter and tearing it out of the envelope it was in.

_Dear Melanie, _

_Sorry for the late letter. Mrs. Danielson told me to write it personally and it was forgotten beneath the mountain of homework I've received. Sorry._

_We are all fine at the orphanage, thanks for asking. We all appreciate your concern but there is really no need for it when it has only been a few weeks. Other then the start of the school term, nothing has changed. _

_No, I am not planning a huge party this year for my birthday. It would be too inconvenient for everyone else here. Just a small get together with my friends again. And before you can say anything about it, really it's fine, I prefer a smaller party to a bigger one anyway._

_Faye is also fine (I know you would want to know about her particularly). She is doing well in school and although she misses you, she has accepted that this is a great opportunity for you. She says thank you for the stuffed owl. _

_We hope your classes are going well and want to hear all about them in your next letter! _

_Can't wait to see you at Christmas!_

_Marissa and…_

Below her name were fifteen others, including Mrs. Danielson, who neat cursive was easy to pick out against the rest of the scrawled writing. Melanie smiled and struggled to push away the tears of joy that threatened to spill over. She was relieved to know that the late letter was not because they didn't want to talk to her, but because of Marissa's forgetfulness. It was a silly thought anyway. Though now she had to figure out what to write when it came time for her classes…

"See! Told you didn't we?" Ron laughed.

Melanie smiled bashfully before turning back to re-read her letter.

The day passed surprisingly quickly and before she knew it, Melanie and the others were walking back from their last class of the day, heading towards the Common Room. She wasn't quite paying attention to where they were going – she was thinking of what she would be doing in history were she in a Muggle School – but vaguely recognized the moving staircases. Hermione and Ron were behind her, bickering about something or another, and Harry was ahead of her leading the way.

She was climbing a set of stairs when she was shook from her thoughts and had to grasp the side rail to keep from falling over. Melanie focused her eyes and saw that the staircase had conveniently decided to move while they were on it. When they finally stopped, Ron suggested they move before the stairs changed yet again and they made their way off of the flight of steps. They came face-to-face with a solid wooden door and seeing no other option; they pushed it open and stepped inside.

This place was completely unfamiliar to Melanie. Not that she expected to know every corridor in the school yet, but somehow she thought that this particular one was unfamiliar to most. It was completely cast in shadow, not a single torch illuminated the stone, though she could see them hanging flameless in their brackets on the walls. A statue stood in the middle, but she could not see the figure clearly enough to tell what it was.

"Why do I get the feeling we're not supposed to be here?" Ron blurted out looking around in the darkness.

"That's because we're not supposed to be here! This is the third floor corridor!" Hermione exclaimed in a hushed whisper.

Melanie silently agreed wanting nothing more than to escape the dark cold that surrounded her. Just looking around sent an unpleasant shiver down her spine.

"C'mon," Harry finally urged.

They turned around but stopped dead in their tracks when they looked down. Mrs. Norris stood in the doorway, looking at them in an accusing fashion. That was something Melanie defiantly did not want to see right now. Suddenly the lights flickered to life and Mr. Filch's footsteps could be heard on their way.

"RUN!" Harry yelled and they all bolted in the opposite direction down the corridor. Melanie ran as fast as her legs could carry her and nearly ran straight into Harry when he came to a sudden stop at the end of the hall. They were faced with yet another door and again seeing no other option tried to open it. Ron pulled and yanked on the door with no luck. Behind them they heard the approaching footfalls of Filch and the approving meows of Mrs. Norris.

"It's locked!" Ron exclaimed.

"Oh, move over!" Hermione said, shoving him out of the way and drawing her wand at the same time. She pointed it at the heavy iron handle and muttered 'Alohomora!'

The lock clicked and the door swung open just enough for them to all pile in and shut the door behind them. They all pressed their ears against the door and held their breath. Melanie heard a grunt of disapproval and shuffling feet before she let out a deep sigh.

"Alohomora?" Ron asked Hermione breathing deeply.

"Standard Book of Spells: Chapter 7," she gasped.

Melanie rolled her eyes. Figures Hermione would read ahead. She had to remember to thank her later.

"That was close," Melanie whispered, still trying to catch her breath. "Why was it locked in the first place?"

"That's why."

Melanie looked at Harry questioningly, only to see his eyes dead set on something behind her. She could tell from the sickly pale shade of his face that whatever 'it' was, it definitely wasn't good.

Slowly she turned around and looked straight into the eyes of a monstrous three headed dog. Three headed! Three pairs of vicious yellow eyes, three noses sniffing in their direction, and three drooling mouths with countless sharp fangs.

Fear didn't even begin to describe what Melanie was feeling.

Her scream of terror might have.

Hermione yanked the door open and the four of them pushed through, the dog's jaws snapping just inches away from them. The closed the door and lent against it as the beast tried with all it's strength to push through. Somehow they got the door closed and ran from the forbidden corridor.

Melanie never remembered being so terrified in her entire life. Not even the frightening Gringotts carts could compare to the horror that ripped through her just moments before. Why would they have such a thing, in a school no less? She couldn't seem to find an answer and before she knew it they were already in the Common Room.

"What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?" Ron exclaimed as they made their way towards the dormitory stairs.

"You don't use your eyes do you? Didn't you see what it was standing on?" Hermione said.

"Standing on?! I wasn't looking at its feet! I was a little preoccupied with its head! Or maybe you didn't notice… it had three!" Ron nearly yelled. Harry shushed him so Hermione could continue.

"It was standing on a trapdoor. And it wasn't an accident. It was guarding something," she said.

Melanie furrowed her eyebrows. "Guarding something?"

Hermione nodded.

They were all lost in their own thoughts until Hermione spoke up. "Well, I'm going to bed before either of you come up with another clever idea to get us killed – or worse, expelled." With that she walked away and up towards the girls' dorms.

"She needs to sort out her priorities," Ron said before turning away to the boys' dorm.

Melanie turned to Harry to see him looking at her. "Were you thinking what I was?"

He nodded. "Hagrid said the only place safer than Gringotts was Hogwarts. If that thing was guarding something…"

"Do you think whatever Hagrid took out of the Gringotts vault… do you think that dog's guarding it now?"

"Maybe…"

Melanie returned to her thoughts, hoping that some idea to what the thing inside the vault was would jump out at her. It didn't, though she did jump when Harry touched her arm.

"Are you alright? You look really pale," Harry said.

Melanie laughed weakly. "It's not everyday you're nearly eaten by a three headed dog."

Harry tried to laugh too, but the sound seemed to catch in his throat. "Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine. Thanks. See you tomorrow?" Melanie said as she stared into his vibrant green eyes. Strangely she found that the fear that had been shaking her body dulled and her breathing returned to almost passive.

Harry smiled. "Yeah, see you tomorrow."

And with that he left her to ponder over the nights events.

Hermione was frustrated to say the least. Their little 'adventure' the night before was not only making her short with Melanie's endless questions, but she now refused to talk to Harry or Ron. Apparently it was their fault they were nearly killed by a giant three headed dog. Melanie decided to let her burn herself out because before long, she would be pestering them about homework and reciting advanced books to them again.

Still, she now had to split her time between Hermione and the boys and her patience was slowly warring. Melanie felt guilty when she left Hermione alone, but she felt a little bored being away from the guys. Hermione might have been annoyed at their adventure, but it thrilled her. Of course, that was after she stopped shuddering with fear. The fact that she might miss the next venture because she was in the library with Hermione upset her.

"Hermione, will you please just talk to them again? I hate having to time myself between all three of you," Melanie pleaded as the two walked together towards their Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Ahead of her she could see Harry and Ron also in deep conversation, and she wanted to run to catch up to them.

"Do you realize that we could have been killed? We've only been here two months and there's already been a near death experience because of those two!" she replied.

"And how is _that_ their fault?"

Hermione opened her mouth to answer, but seemed unable to find one.

"Please Hermione! Please!" Melanie begged.

Hermione gave her a scornful look before rolling her eyes dramatically. "Fine!"

Melanie grinned and pulled her along enthusiastically towards the classroom.

Maybe it was because of the overwhelming load of homework, or the trouble with her friends, or the still lingering excitement of their escapade, but before long it was already Halloween at Hogwarts. Melanie couldn't believe that two months had already passed, but the anticipation of the feast kept her from fretting too long on that. She had heard from some of the older students that Hogwarts' Halloween feast was spectacular, with delicious food and tons of sugary sweets. Halloween had always been one of Melanie's favorite holidays and she couldn't wait for this one at Hogwarts.

The morning of the 31st of October arrived with the smells of baking pumpkins, a smell that warmed the very bones of Melanie's body. Throughout the entire morning she could be found with a smile on her face and chatting away happily to everyone. And as if that wasn't enough to make her day perfect, Professor Flitwick announced that they would be learning how to levitate objects in Charms class.

No one could have described Melanie's excitement. She was literally bouncing in her seat beside Dean Thomas, who was looking at her as if she had finally lost it.

"Now don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" tiny Professor Flitwick squeaked. "Swish and Flick," he reminded while demonstrating the movement with his wand. The class copied him, all except Melanie, who had practiced the movement the night before and doubted she could possibly screw it up now.

"Very good! Now has everyone got their feathers?"

As if reading the other's mind, Melanie and Hermione held up their feathers proudly, both excited to get started. Professor Flitwick instructed them to begin practicing and soon the classroom was filled with the repetitive words _Wingardium Leviosa_!

Melanie cleared her throat and pointed her wand at the snowy white feather on her desk. "_Wingardium Leviosa_!" she said, clearly and loudly as the Professor had instructed, and did the wrist movement. To her surprise, the feather rose gently from the desk, flying a few feet into the air.

"Excellent! Excellent, Miss Danielson!" Professor Flitwick exclaimed as he passed their table, a wide smile on his face.

Melanie lowered the feather back down onto the table, a pleased grin across her face.

"How'd you do that?"

She looked beside her at Dean, who was staring at her in awed amazement. Melanie blushed. "It's simple really. You just have to picture the feather rising up. I don't think it works otherwise," she told him.

Dean nodded and looked back at his feather. "_Wingardium Leviosa_!" he said. His feather gave a feeble twitch and he sighed.

Melanie gave him a sympathetic look and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Keep working on it. It'll come."

He smiled and opened his mouth to thank her but it was interrupted by Hermione commanding Ron, her partner, to stop.

"Stop, stop, stop! You're going to take someone's eye out. Besides your saying it wrong," she said. Melanie turned in her seat to see Ron looking at Hermione with annoyance on his face. "It's Wingardium _Levi-o-sa_, not _Levios-a-_," Hermione finished.

"You do it, then, if you're so clever!" Ron snapped.

Hermione rolled up her sleeves and pointed her wand at her feather. "_Wingardium Leviosa_!" she said confidently. Like Melanie's feather, hers rose from the table causing everyone to look and her in wonder. Ron huffed and put his head down on the table, looking positively put out.

When the class ended, Melanie got up from her seat and went over to Hermione, who was putting her books into her bag.

"Go on ahead Mel. I want to ask Professor Flitwick something about the essay," she said when she realized Melanie was waiting for her.

"Alright, see you in Defense!" Melanie replied before heading out of the classroom.

Looking around in the Hall, Melanie couldn't see Harry or Ron anywhere, so she started off on her own. She knew Ron would be upset about Hermione, but he _was_ doing it wrong and Hermione was only trying to help. Just maybe not in the best way.

Walking out into the courtyard, she saw the boys walking with Seamus, Dean, and Neville. She ran through the crowd to catch up to them, bumping into people along her way.

"Harry! Ron!" she yelled. They both turned around and waited for her to catch up.

"Hey," Harry greeted. "Where's Hermione?"

"She wanted to ask Professor Flitwick something. She told me she'd meet us in Defense," Melanie answered, not missing the annoyed huff that came from Ron.

"_It's Levi-o-sa, not Levios-a-_!" he said cruelly mimicking Hermione's earlier correction. Melanie was about to tell him off, but he continued. "It's no wonder no one can stand her. She's a nightmare, honestly!"

Harry knocked into her as someone pushed passed him and Melanie saw her worst fear coming to life. Hermione pushed on ahead quickly, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I think she heard you," Harry said, watching Hermione run off too.

"So? She must have noticed she has no friends," Ron answered.

Having heard enough, Melanie stood in front of him and shoved him angrily. "Why do you have to be such a prat, Ron? She was only trying to help you! And just so you know, she does have a friend! She has me! Which is more than you can say right now!"

Ron looked at her with startled eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but Melanie walked away before he could say anything. Fuming, she pushed her way through the crowd in the direction that Hermione had gone, hoping that she would find her soon.

It turned out that Hermione had pulled a disappearing act because Melanie saw no sign of her. Before long it was time to go to class and Melanie hoped she would see her friend in class. But again her hopes were shattered and Melanie had to sit alone throughout class, trying to ignore the pleading looks Harry and Ron were giving her.

Melanie didn't see Hermione all afternoon and wondered where on earth she had gotten to. Ron had tried to talk to her a few times, perhaps to apologized, but Melanie paid him no heed. Instead, she hung out with Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, who seemed extremely pleased to have her with them. She found that they were actually quite nice, except for the fact that all they did was talk about boys and the school gossip. Even after having only talked to her for the afternoon, they were asking questions about the boy she 'liked'.

She met them again at the feast (she had left them to drop her books off in their dorm room), sitting a short way away from Harry and Ron who were already enjoying their meal. They sat and talked, Melanie barely eating a thing because of her ever constant worry over Hermione, until they told her the latest piece of gossip.

"And we went into the girls' toilet, the one on the fifth floor, and guess who we saw," Lavender told her excitedly.

Rather reluctantly, Melanie asked who.

"Hermione Granger! You know, the smartest girl in our year," Parvati said.

Melanie straightened up. They found Hermione!

"She was crying and said she wanted to be left alone," Lavender added.

"Is she still there?" Melanie asked bluntly, not caring who was watching her.

The girls looked at her confused. "Yeah…but why would you…?"

Melanie gave them no time to finish because she jumped from her seat and dashed out of the Great Hall. She ran through the corridors and up the stairs until she reached the girls' bathroom on the fifth floor.

Quietly, she opened the door and stepped inside. If she hadn't known that someone was already inside, she would not have heard the near silent sniffle that came from one of the stalls.

"Hermione?" she said softly.

"Go away!" called a voice from the stall. Melanie knew immediately that it was Hermione, her voice was cracked and unsteady still, even after hours of crying.

"Hermione…its Melanie," she said, approaching the stall.

"Go away!" Hermione yelled again. "Go back to Harry and Ron and just leave me alone!"

Melanie ignored her and still walked closer. "I've been looking for you all day. Lavender and Parvati just told me they found you here."

Another sniffle. "Shouldn't you be at the feast?" Hermione asked a little less angry.

Melanie shrugged even though Hermione couldn't see it. "It wasn't that interesting. Besides I didn't know how much longer I could take Lavender and Parvati asking me who I liked."

A sound came from inside the stall, but Melanie couldn't tell if it was a laugh or the beginning of more tears. She hoped it was the former.

"What about Harry and Ron? They must be down there. Why don't you talk to them?"

"I haven't talked to either of them since after Charms class." Melanie answered.

"Why?"

"Well after Ron said what he did…I might have pushed him, called him a prat, and told him I didn't want to talk to him anymore."

This time Melanie was positive that she heard a laugh come from the stall.

"You did?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, I did. He shouldn't have said that, Hermione."

There was a short pause. "Is it true though? Am I really that bad?"

"Of course not! You're really smart Hermione and you should be proud of that! If Ron doesn't understand that you were just trying to help him, then that's his problem," Melanie said.

Again there was a slight pause. Suddenly the door opened and Hermione stepped out, rubbing the tears from her eyes. Melanie smiled at her, glad that she had helped. Hermione looked at her, but the smile that was there quickly disappeared as she looked over Melanie's shoulder.

Not saying a word, Melanie glanced over her shoulder and nearly screamed in fear at what she saw. Standing in the entranceway to the bathroom, its head nearly touching the ceiling, was a giant cave troll. Its rough skin was a dull stony grey and its body was large and imperfect. Its legs resembled the size of thick tree trunks and its feet were huge enough to squish them both in a second. It carried a very big wooden club in its great hands.

She slowly backed away, trying not to draw attention to herself, and pushed herself and Hermione back into the stall. She closed the door behind her but it was too late. They had been seen.

The troll let out a rumbling growl and the tops of the stalls were smashed away. Melanie and Hermione hit the floor screaming as shards of wood rained down on them.

"Hermione! Melanie! Move!"

Melanie and Hermione did as they were told, throwing themselves underneath the stall into the next one, just barely avoiding the club that came crashing down just inches from where they were.

"Harry, help!" Melanie screamed.

She could hear Harry and Ron outside, trying to distract the troll and knew she had to do something.

"Hermione we have to get out of here!" she shouted.

Hermione nodded and began to crawl out from underneath the stall. Melanie moved to follow her, but felt something tugging on her leg. Looking back she saw her pant-leg caught on a piece of wood, stooping her from going anywhere. She reached down to try to tug herself free, but nothing happened.

She looked up when she heard Hermione scream. She was huddled underneath one of the sinks; the one behind her had been smashed away. The troll raised its club again and Melanie held her breath.

"Oi! Pea-brain!"

Ron threw a piece a wood at the troll at hit the back of its head, causing it to turn around. Harry raced at, grabbed onto its club and was thrown onto the trolls shoulders.

Melanie frantically pulled at her leg, but still nothing happened.

Frustrated (and clearly confused) the troll flung Harry around, ending up with Harry's wand stuck up its nose. Melanie gasped as it grabbed Harry by the leg and dangled him in front, then swung its club at him.

"Do something!" he screamed at Ron, dodging the troll's swing.

"What?" Ron asked looking around him.

"Anything!" Harry shouted, dodging another attack.

Still tugging at her pants, Melanie watched Ron draw his wand from his pocket. He looked at Hermione, who did the proper wrist movement and said, "Swish and flick!"

Ron raised his wand. "_Wingardium Leviosa_!"

'_Perfect!_' Melanie thought.

The troll went to swing at Harry again, but held nothing but air. It looked at its empty hand and then towards the ceiling, where its club hovered over its head. Suddenly it fell, hitting the troll on the head, knocking it out. Harry fell and scrambled away from the troll, which crashed to the ground with a loud thud.

Melanie gave a sigh of relief.

"Melanie?"

She looked up and saw Harry coming over to her, a look of worry on his face.

"I'm alright," she said as he bent down beside her. "My pant-leg is stuck s'all."

Harry helped her pull herself free, leaving only a small rip at the bottom hem of her leg, and helped her over the piles of wood. Melanie gave Hermione a tight hug and gave Ron a smile just as Professors McGonagall, Quirrell, and Snape came into the room.

Professor McGonagall took one look at the troll and gave a startled yelp. Stuttering slightly from shock she said, "Oh, oh my goodness."

She looked at Harry and Ron and said, "Explain yourselves…the both of you."

Harry and Ron struggled to come up with an answer, but were saved when Hermione spoke up. "It was my fault Professor," she said causing everyone to look at her. "I went looking for the troll. I've read about them and thought I could handle it. If Harry, Ron, and Melanie hadn't saved me…I'd probably be dead."

Professor gave her a surprised, yet stern look. "Be that as it may… I am very disappointed in you Miss Granger. Five points will be taken from Gryffindor."

Melanie lowered her head as Professor McGonagall looked at Harry, Ron, and herself. "As for you three… I just hope you realized how fortunate you are. Not many first years can take on a fully grown mountain troll and live to tell the tale. Five points will be awarded to each of you," she told them.

Melanie grinned at the others as the Professor added, "For sheer dumb luck."

It was strange, but that incident brought the four of them closer than they had ever been before. Melanie was grateful that Harry and Ron had come to save her and Hermione. Hermione was grateful that Melanie had come to find her in the first place. And the boys were just grateful that they were forgiven. After that, their friendship grew stronger and soon enough they were inseparable.


	4. Just the Beginning

**Chapter 4: Just the Beginning**

As the start of November came the weather became icy and cold and every morning frost could be seen covering Hogwarts' grounds. Hagrid was always outside defrosting the schools broomsticks, wearing his long moleskin overcoat and enormous woolen mitts. They all disliked the trip out to the greenhouses for Herbology and had taken to huddling in groups whenever outside the castle. However the weather was the least of their problems.

The Saturday after the incident with the troll was the first match of the Quidditch season, and saying that Harry was nervous was a huge understatement. He was downright terrified. But with their help, he somehow made it to Saturday.

But at breakfast the day of the match Harry wouldn't eat anything he was so nervous.

"You've got to eat something, mate," Ron said.

"I don't want anything," Harry answered looking down at the table.

Hermione then said, "Just a bit of toast."

"I'm not hungry."

"Harry," Melanie said in a tone that forced him to look up at her. "You'll need your strength."

He looked at her a moment before sighing and taking a bite out of his previously untouched toast.

"Good luck today, Potter."

Melanie looked over Harry's shoulder at Snape, who was glaring down at Harry. "Then again, a little game of Quidditch should be nothing after defeating a mountain troll…even if it is against Slytherin," he sneered before turning and exciting the Great Hall. Melanie watched him and noticed that he was walking with a limp.

"What's wrong with his leg?" she asked, drawing the others' attentions.

"I saw it too," Harry said. "Listen," he said leaning in closer to them. "The night the troll got in; I saw blood on Snape's leg. It looked like he'd been attacked. I think _he_ let the troll in as a distraction to try and get past that three-headed dog." 

"But why would Snape go near that thing?" Ron asked.

"Why would anyone go near that thing?" Melanie said.

Hermione shook her head. "That's ridiculous. Professor Snape is a teacher. Why would he try to steal whatever that dog is guarding?"

None of them could come up with a realistic answer, so they sat in silence until the very last second.

"I suppose we should head down now," Ron suggested, looking warily at Harry.

Harry merely nodded and stood from the table. Together the four of them walked down to the Quidditch pitch, where students were already beginning to fill the stands. Beside her Harry moaned and she put a hand on his shoulder.

"You'll be brilliant. I know it," Melanie said reassuringly.

He nodded, his face beginning to look very pale. Harry left them to go to the Gryffindor change room and Melanie, Hermione, and Ron made their way to the stands.

They finally found their place just as the stadium became packed with students and teachers. Melanie wondered how Harry was doing; he must have been close to being sick. She prayed that he would make it through this game okay and something inside her told her he would.

Hagrid appeared beside her, giving her a warm welcome and a strong pat on the head, and not soon after the teams came onto the pitch. Melanie cheered as the Gryffindor team flew around the pitch and watched as Harry followed them, proving that he was an excellent flyer.

Just watching the game had Melanie grasping onto the rail in front of her in her excited fear. Harry had been brilliant so far, at least for his first game, but it was a back and forth game between Gryffindor and Slytherin. Melanie watched as Harry suddenly sped off after what she could only assume was the Golden Snitch.

Then the strangest and scariest thing happened. Harry suddenly flew off course as his broom began to jerk him around. Melanie watch helplessly as Harry hung on for dear life, nearly being tossed form his broomstick.

"What's wrong with Harry's broom?" Hagrid asked.

Hermione reached over and grabbed Hagrid large binoculars and pressed them to her eyes. However instead of watching Harry, she was scanning the crowd. Now holding her breath, Melanie watched as Hermione stopped on something, or someone, in the sea of people.

"It's Snape! He's jinxing the broom!" she whispered just loud enough for Melanie and Ron to hear.

"What?" Melanie exclaimed, grabbing the pair of binoculars and looking in the direction Hermione had. Sure enough, her eyes found Snape and she saw him staring unblinkingly at Harry and his mouth forming an incantation she couldn't understand.

"What are we going to do?" Ron asked worriedly.

"Leave it to me," Hermione said before disappearing into the crowd.

Melanie looked back into the binoculars, this time looking at Harry. She caught a glimpse of his face as he was being flung around, and it held a look of utter terror.

"Come on Hermione," she muttered.

A few moments passed and Melanie continued to watch Harry. Suddenly his broom stopped bucking and Harry pulled himself back on top of it, giving Melanie the chance to let out the breath she had been holding. As he flew off in search of the Snitch again, Melanie looked over at Snape and saw him trying desperately to put out a fire. He had knocked the people around him down, including poor Professor Quirrell, but it had done the trick. Harry was back flying again.

Now they watched Harry catch up to the Slytherin Seeker, Marcus Flint, and race to catch the Snitch. However it wasn't long before Melanie was holding her breath again as they both went into a nose dive, heading straight towards the ground. The entire stadium seemed to fill with tension as they got closer and closer to the ground, neither slowing down.

Suddenly Flint pulled out of the dive and so did Harry, but only at the last second. Perfectly level with the ground, Harry carefully stood on his broom reaching an arm out…

"Harry!"

He was thrown forwards off his broom and landed with a thud on the hard pitch. Melanie covered her mouth in shock and watched as he slowly stood up, both hands over his stomach.

"It looks like he's going to be sick!" Hagrid said.

Indeed it did, Harry lurched forward, his hand flying to his mouth. However instead of seeing the small breakfast he had that morning, Melanie saw something gold and round in his hand.

"He got the Snitch!" she cried, sending the stadium into a frenzy.

"Gryffindor wins one hundred seventy to sixty!" shouted Lee Jordan, Fred and George Weasley's best friend and Quidditch commentator. Harry stood in the middle of the pitch with his fist in the air as his friends all felt relieved because he was finally safe.

After the match the four followed Hagrid down to his hut, where he made them each a cup of strong tea and they talked about Harry's great victory. He was no longer nervous and afraid about Quidditch, in fact he had told him it was the most wonderful thing he had ever felt. Melanie was happy for him, knowing that this was exactly what he needed to take his mind off of everyone else.

They were all seated around Hagrid's giant table and Ron had just told Hagrid about how it was Snape who had jinxed Harry's broom.

"Nonsense," Hagrid said. "Why would Snape try to jinx Harry's broom?"

"Why did he try to get past that three-headed dog on Halloween?" Harry asked.

Hagrid choked on his tea. "Who told you about Fluffy?"

"_Fluffy_?" Melanie asked unbelievingly while Hermione said, "That _thing_ has a name?"

"Course he has a name! 'E's mine! Gave him to Dumbledore to guard the…"

"The what?" Harry asked.

"I shouldn't 'a said that," Hagrid muttered to himself. "Nothing, never you mind."

"Hagrid," Harry continued. "Whatever…_Fluffy_… is guarding, Snape is after it." 

Hagrid sighed. "Now listen here you four. You're meddling in business that ain't meant to be meddled in! This is strictly between Professor Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel!"

Melanie looked at the others who shared the same curious look that she did.

"Nicolas Flamel?" Hermione asked.

Hagrid stood shocked at what he had just let slip and ushered them out of the hut before they could asked any more questions.

"I shouldn't have said that. I should _not_ have said that," he said cursing himself as he closed the door.

"Nicolas Flamel?" Harry wondered aloud before turning to Hermione. "Who's Nicolas Flamel?"

She shook her head. "I don't know."

Soon November became December and Melanie couldn't wait for Christmas. She was going to be returning to the orphanage for the holidays and she couldn't wait to see everyone again. Hermione was also going to be returning home for Christmas, as well as Ron, which left Harry alone over the holidays. Melanie felt bad, she had asked him if he wanted her to stay there, but he told her that he would be fine and that she should go home for Christmas. Melanie had agreed sadly, feeling as if she was abandoning him.

Up until the time she left however, Melanie would be practically living in the library with the other three, looking up information on Nicolas Flamel. None of them had found anything on him yet and wondered if he was even in a book. Hermione was convinced he was.

"If he is associated with Dumbledore _and_ the thing that Snape is trying to steal, he must be in a book somewhere. He has to be," she said, sounding as if she was trying to convince herself more than the other three.

It was the night before they were leaving for the holidays and Melanie and Hermione were still looking through books. They were sitting on Hermione's bed, both clad in their pajamas, the only sound heard was the sound of a page turning. It was getting late and Melanie was already struggling to keep her eyes open, her eyelids had grown too heavy. The words on the page had become blurred and her brain was no longer processing anything, so she marked her page and closed the book. Lying down on Hermione's bed she said, "I feel bad for leaving Harry here." 

Hermione looked up from her reading, her eyes betraying that she too was very tired. "Me too, but he said he'd be okay, didn't he?"

"And you believe him?"

Hermione sighed and shook her head.

"If only I had convinced him to let me stay. I hate the thought of him being alone… especially at Christmas," Melanie said, ending her sentence with a long yawn.

Hermione yawned too and closed her book. "Maybe he'll be alright. Besides we promised to write him, so I think he'll be fine," she said.

Melanie agreed and got off Hermione's bed and threw herself onto her own. She checked to make sure her trunk was packed and that she had left a change of clothes out for the next day, before pulling the scarlet hangings around her bed closed. She bid Hermione goodnight before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

The next morning Melanie woke up later than usual and was surprised that Hermione had actually let her sleep in. She got out of bed and changed just as Hermione opened the door.

"Good morning," she greeted cheerfully.

Melanie greeted her with a smile before packing her pajamas away and closing her trunk. She began to lug it towards the door and Hermione laughed.

"Honestly…they say you're the best in Charms," Hermione said jokingly as she levitated the trunk out the door. Melanie laughed and followed her down to the Common Room. Looking around, Melanie saw that it was still beautifully decorated with holly lacing nearly everything and a giant Christmas tree by the already roaring fireplace.

"Where are the boys?" Melanie asked, noticing that neither Harry nor Ron were there.

"Probably in the Great Hall," Hermione answered. "Ron was hungry and he just couldn't wait for you to get up so he and Harry went down. I ate earlier."

Melanie laughed at Ron's impatience and grabbed her trunk as Hermione did the same to hers and they left the Common Room together.

When they arrived at the Great Hall, Melanie spotted Harry and Ron sitting at the bare Gryffindor table, playing what looked like chess. She rolled her trunk over to them and sat down next to Harry just as Ron made his next move.

"Queen to E5," Ron said. Melanie watched in amazement as Ron's queen got up and walked over to Harry's knight, and knocked it over. She couldn't help but laugh.

"That's barbaric!" Hermione exclaimed.

"That's Wizard's Chess," Ron answered.

"I think its brilliant," Melanie said earning a nod from Harry.

"I see you're all packed," Ron said gesturing to Melanie's and Hermione's luggage.

"I see you're not."

"Change of plans," Ron said. "My parents have gone to Romania to visit my brother Charlie."

"Good," Hermione said smugly. "Then you can help Harry look in the library fvor more books on Nicolas Flamel." 

"Again?" Ron exclaimed looking at Harry. "We've looked a thousand times!"

Hermione leaned in close so that passers-by wouldn't hear. "Not in the Restricted Section. Happy Christmas!" With that she turned and pulled her trunk to the entrance.

Melanie stood up to follow. "Be careful…both of you. And Happy Christmas," she said before going after Hermione.

When the train arrived at Platform Nine and Three Quarters later that day, Melanie couldn't be more excited. She and Hermione got off the train, but Melanie didn't see Mrs. Danielson anywhere. So she followed Hermione over to where her parents said they would meet her.

"Mum! Dad!" Hermione cried as she rushed over and hugged each of her parents. Melanie felt slightly uncomfortable watching the happy family, knowing that she would never be greeted by her actual parents.

"Mum, Dad," Hermione began. "This is Melanie Danielson. Melanie these are my parents." 

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Melanie said as she shook each of their hands.

Melanie noticed that Hermione's mother had the same bushy brown hair and eyes that her daughter had. Mr. Granger on the other hand, was quite tall and had blue eyes.

"Hermione tells us that you're an excellent student," Mr. Granger said.

Melanie thanked him and they talked for a while until Melanie saw Mrs. Danielson from the corner of her eye.

"I have to go, but it was very nice meeting you. I'll see you after the break Hermione!"

Melanie nearly ran over to Mrs. Danielson, who enveloped her in a hug as soon as she saw her.

"Oh, Melanie," Mrs. Danielson said as she held Melanie at arms length. "Look how much you've grown. The girls are all so excited to see you again."

With that Melanie left the platform with Mrs. Danielson and headed home.

"Melanie! Melanie! Wake up!"

Melanie groaned and pulled the covers over her head. "Not now Hermione! Let me sleep!"

Someone ripped the covers away from her and Melanie looked into the emerald green eyes of Faye.

"Come down for presents! And stop calling me Hermione!" Faye laughed, dragging Melanie out of bed.

It had been a week at the orphanage and Melanie was beginning to find that she had a hard time forgetting about the usual school routine. Instead of Hermione waking her up, Faye did. And instead of waiting in the Common Room for Harry and Ron, she was dragged straight to the kitchen to see her fifteen sisters. It was strange, that she had been living this way her entire life and now suddenly it seemed foreign.

Faye held Melanie's hand in a tight grip as she dragged her down the stairs and into the living room where everyone was waiting. Around the Christmas tree there was a present for each girl from Mrs. Danielson as there was each year. Melanie sat and watched as each girl took their turn opening their present, until she was the last one to go. She felt slightly guilty, she had known that there would be extra presents for her because of Harry, Ron, and Hermione and she didn't want anyone to feel annoyed or upset.

However to her surprise, they seemed excited to watch her open her presents and so the guiltiness slipped away. Making her way over to the tree, Melanie picked up the first present, the one from Mrs. Danielson. Opening it, she found a warm knitted sweater in scarlet and gold. Melanie looked at Mrs. Danielson confused, only to have the elderly woman smile back at her. How she knew Melanie's house colors were scarlet and gold she would never know.

The next present was from Hermione. Melanie picked it up and laughed, already knowing what it was. She pulled back the paper to reveal a thick book with a blank cover. Hermione must have found a spell that would erase the title, knowing that none of Melanie's sisters knew about magic and if Melanie received a book titled _Wickedly Witchy: The Most Famous Witches of the Century_, they might begin to wonder.

Ron's present was next and Melanie was happy to find he had given her some more wizarding sweets, which she had fallen in love with. She just had to remember to keep them away from the others, the last thing she needed was for someone to open a Chocolate Frog and completely freak out.

Finally, she opened Harry's present, a colorfully wrapped box. Inside was a plush toy lion (Gryffindor's icon) with a note inside the box. Melanie carefully pulled it out and read it to herself.

Dear Mel,

Hope you like your present! I remember you telling me about leaving your stuffed owl with your friend at the orphanage, so I thought you might need this one. Hermione helped stitch your name on the side (who knows what would have happened if I had tried myself).

Happy Christmas,

Harry

Melanie turned the lion and sure enough (in gold) 'Mel' was stitched onto the side. Melanie smiled and hugged the lion tight to her chest before gathering up her other presents. The girls had gone to playing with their presents already, so Melanie was just going to sneak upstairs and put her things away in her trunk.

Somehow she managed to escape without Faye noticing and went into their room. She opened her trunk and put the book and sweets inside then closed it. Melanie placed the lion in the middle of her bed and turned to leave.

The holidays passed quickly for Melanie and before she knew it she was getting ready to leave the home for the train station again. She said goodbye to everyone and promised to write before she headed out the door with Mrs. Danielson.

The trip back to Hogwarts was slow; she and Hermione just retold their holidays and thanked each other for their gifts (Melanie had gotten her an organizer, not knowing what else Hermione would want). They arrived at the school and went straight to the Gryffindor Common Room. Melanie went through first and saw Harry and Ron sitting by the fire. She dropped her trunk and raced over to them, giving them each a hug.

They told Melanie and Hermione about Harry receiving an Invisibility Cloak for Christmas (supposedly it was his father's) and using it to sneak into the Restricted Section of the library. He didn't find anything on Nicolas Flamel, but he said he found something called the Mirror of Erised, what showed you your heart's greatest desire. Melanie wondered what she would have seen if she had looked into the mirror, but from the sad look on Harry's face, decided she didn't really want to know.

The problem was they still hadn't found anything on Nicolas Flamel and Snape could be so much closer to stealing whatever was guarded.

As the second term started, they found themselves in the library again. They had less time now that their homework was being piled on heavier than ever and Harry had even less time. Gryffindor was playing its second game against Hufflepuff, with Snape refereeing. They were all worried about that, in case Snape tried to jinx Harry's broom again.

It was the first time they had found themselves with free time since the end of the Christmas break, and they were enjoying it in the Common Room. Ron and Hermione were playing chess, Hermione was terrible and Ron was brilliant, so Melanie didn't think it was very fair. But chess was the only thing Hermione _ever_ lost at and they decided it would be healthy for her.

Harry and Melanie were eating the rest of the sweets they had left over from Christmas, while they were trying to figure out a way to get Harry out of playing Quidditch while Snape was there.

"Don't play," Hermione said.

"Say you're ill," said Ron.

"Pretend to break your leg," Melanie suggested.

"_Really_ break your leg," Ron said.

"I can't," Harry explained. "We don't have a reserve seeker! If I back out Gryffindor can't play at all!"

"Well I don't think it's worth the risk, mate," Ron said looking at the chess board in complete focus. "I mean, if Snape's trying to kill you…"

"_I've found him!_"

Melanie looked at Harry who was studying the back of a Chocolate Frog card. The side that she could see had a picture of Dumbledore, who smiled and winked at her. What on earth was he talking about?

"I've found Flamel! I knew I'd read the name somewhere…listen: 'Professor Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood _and his work on alchemy with his partner Nicolas Flamel'_!"

Hermione jumped from her seat and ran towards the girls' dorms. A couple minutes later she returned, carrying a heavy book in her hands. "I had you looking in the wrong place all this time! I took this out of the library weeks ago for a bit of light reading," she said placing the book on the table with a loud thud.

"This is light?" Ron asked, but was quickly shut up by the look Hermione gave him.

She flicked through the pages while the others watched and suddenly she came to a stop about halfway through the book.

"Here! _Nicolas Flamel is the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone!_"

Apparently she didn't quite get the effect she expected because she sighed and rolled her eyes dramatically.

"Oh, honestly, don't you three read?"

She looked at the book again and began to read a passage. "_The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Philosopher's Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal._

"_There have been many reports of the Philosopher's Stone over the centuries, but the only Stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicolas Flamel, the noted alchemist and opera-lover. Mr. Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday last year, enjoys a quiet life in Devon with his wife, Perenelle (six hundred fifty-eight)…_

"That's what that dog's guarding! That's what Snape was trying to steal!"

Gryffindor beat Hufflepuff in the game the next day and Harry managed to play without having Snape jinx him. And since they won the match, it put Gryffindor in first place for the Cup. In all that excitement, they had not forgotten about the Stone however. They decided that since they knew what Fluffy was guarding they had to find a way to stop Snape from stealing it.

So the night after the match Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Melanie snuck out of the castle under Harry's Invisibility Cloak. Melanie was amazed by it at first, but quickly became serious as she realized how much trouble they would be in if they were caught outside on the school grounds after-hours. They headed towards Hagrid's hut; the only light guiding them was the soft glow through the windows of the hut.

Harry banged on the door loudly, enough for Hagrid to hear but quiet enough for it to not carry across the grounds. The door opened and they lifted the cloak so Hagrid could see who it was. When he did however, he smiled hurriedly and said, "Sorry don't wish to be rude, but I'm in no fit state to entertain today."

He began to close the door on them when all four of them said, "We know about the Philosopher's Stone!"

The door opened again and Hagrid said, "Oh," before letting them in.

The first thing Melanie noticed when she stepped inside was how stiflingly hot it was. Even though it was a warm night, Hagrid had a blazing fire going. They sat down in the enormous chairs by the fire and Harry said, "We think Snape's trying to steal it."

"Snape?" Hagrid asked unbelievingly. "Blimey, you're not still on about him, are you?"

"Hagrid, we know he's after the stone… we just don't know why!" Melanie exclaimed.

"Snape is one of the teachers protecting the Stone," Hagrid told them. "He's not about to steal it!"

"What?" Harry asked.

"You heard. Right, come on now, I'm a bit preoccupied today," Hagrid said motioning to the door.

"Wait a minute," Harry said. "_One_ of the teachers?"

"Of course," Hermione said as if realization had just struck her. "There are other things protecting the Stone. Spells, enchantments."

"Fluffy isn't the only thing guarding the Stone is he? There are other things…" Melanie added.

"That's right," Hagrid said. "Waste of bloody time if you ask me. Ain't no one gonna get past Fluffy. Ain't a soul knows how except for me an' Dumbledore," he chuckled, but stopped as soon as he realized what he had said.

"I shouldn't have told you that. I should _not_ have told you that," he muttered.

Melanie was about to ask another question when the cauldron over the fire began rattling. Everyone turned to watch it and Hagrid went over and reached in. He pulled something out of it and set it down onto the table. They crowded around and Melanie couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Er, Hagrid. What exactly is that?" Harry asked nervously.

"Oh, that? That's a…that's umm…"

"I know what that is!" Ron exclaimed. Then he looked at Hagrid. "But Hagrid, how did you get one?"

"I won it," said Hagrid casually. "Off a stranger I met down at the pub. Seemed quite glad to be rid of it as a matter of fact."

The shiny black egg began shacking and rattling more violently until finally it burst open, pieces flying everywhere. Melanie took a step back as she looked down at the small, scaly lizard. Or at least she thought it was a lizard.

"Is that…is that a dragon?" Hermione asked.

"That's not just a dragon!" Ron said. "That's a Norwegian Ridgeback! My brother Charlie works with these in Romania!"

So that was a dragon? Melanie had expected a little bit more than what was in front of her, but she supposed this one was still a baby. Who knew how big it would get?

"Isn't he beautiful?" Hagrid said joyfully. "Oh bless him. Look, he knows his mummy," Hagrid said as the tiny dragon turned to look at him. "Hello Norbert," he cooed as he scratched the dragon underneath the chin.

"Norbert?" Harry asked.

"Well, he's got to have a name, don't he? Don't you Norbert?"

As Hagrid tickled Norbert under the chin, the newborn dragon hiccupped and set fire to Hagrid's big busy beard. Hagrid jumped back and began to pat it out.

"Well, he'll have to be trained up a bit…" he said, but then suddenly stopped and narrowed his eyes. "Who's that?"

Melanie looked over to the window he was looking out of and saw a flash of white-blonde hair disappear off to the side. She gasped. This was the last thing they needed… for _him_ to find out.

"Malfoy," Harry said.

"Oh, dear."

As quickly as they could, the four of them pulled their coats back on and slipped under the Invisibility Cloak. If they got caught, not only would _they_ be in trouble, but Hagrid would be too and that was not really an option for him right now. Not with an illegal newborn dragon in his hut.

They all said goodbye to Hagrid before running out and across the grounds. They couldn't see Malfoy ahead of them, which meant that he must have already been inside the castle. And if Melanie knew anything about Malfoy, it was that he would do anything to get them into trouble. If she didn't know any better, she'd say that Malfoy was already on his way to the nearest teacher, or worse…headed straight for Snape.

"Hagrid always wanted a dragon," Harry said as they quietly walked through the halls towards the Gryffindor Common Room. "Remember he told us the first time we met him?" he asked Melanie, who nodded.

"Why would anyone want a dragon?" Hermione asked.

"It's crazy," said Ron. "And worse, Malfoy knows."

"I don't understand," Hermione said questioningly. "Is that bad?"

"It's bad."

Melanie looked ahead and saw Professor McGonagall standing outside her classroom door, clothed in a tartan dressing gown and slippers. Malfoy stood beside her, that evil smirk on his face.

"Good Evening," she said sternly, and Melanie knew that things weren't going to get any better.

The next thing Melanie knew she was stuck between Ron and Harry, as all four of them were lined up in front of McGonagall's desk, while being scolded by a very irate McGonagall.

"Nothing," she spat angrily, "I repeat, nothing, gives a student to walk about the school at night. Therefore, as punishment for your actions, fifty points will be taken."

"Fifty?"

"Each."

Melanie looked at the others in shock, and saw that their faces mirrored hers. How could they have possibly lost two hundred points, in only one night?

"And to be sure it doesn't happen again," continued McGonagall, while Melanie inwardly groaned. How much worse could this get? "All five of you will receive detention."

Malfoy, who up until this point had stayed in the background quietly smirking as McGonagall delivered their punishment, stepped forward with a look of confusion on his face.

"Excuse me Professor," he said, "perhaps I heard you wrong. I thought you said the _five_ of us."

"No, you heard me correctly, Mr. Malfoy. You see, honorable as your intentions were, you too were out of bed after hours."

Melanie watched gleefully as Malfoy's face fell. The others beside her grinned for a moment, before Professor McGonagall spoke again, "You will join your classmates in detention."

Filch, the caretaker, arrived a few minutes after and escorted them back outside. Melanie didn't know where they were going or what he was talking about because her mind was elsewhere. Two hundred points? How did they manage to lose two hundred points? And what would Mrs. Danielson say when she found out that Melanie had been sneaking around the grounds at night? Surely Professor McGonagall would send a letter.

As they got closer to their destination, Melanie finally realized where they were going. Hagrid was moping around in front of his hut, waiting for them with a crossbow over his shoulder. The weapon scared her a bit, but she decided that Hagrid wouldn't shoot them with it, no matter what they had done to receive detention.

When they finally reached him, Melanie noticed that his eyes were red and (what she could see of them) his cheeks were tear-stained. He had been crying.

"A sorry lot, this, Hagrid," Filch said. Then he too noticed Hagrid had been crying and said, "Oh good God man, you're not still on about that bloody dragon, are you?"

Melanie felt a pain in her heart for Hagrid. All he wanted was to keep Norbert and they ruined it for him. "Hagrid…what happened?" she asked softly.

He turned his sad eyes on her and said, "Norbert's gone! Dumbledore sent him off to Romania to live in a colony."

"Well that's good isn't it?" Hermione asked tentatively. "He'll be with his own kind."

"But what if he don't like Romania?" Hagrid asked. "What if the other dragons are mean to him? He's only a baby after all…"

"For God's sake, pull yourself together man," Filch said. "You're going into the Forest after all. You've got to have your wits about you."

Malfoy looked up at him, his eyes wide in shock. "The Forest?" he stammered. "I thought that was a joke. We can't go in there. Students aren't allowed. And there are..."

A howl came from the distance and sent chills down her spine. She did not like the sound of it and was more than positive it had come from the Forest.

"…werewolves," Malfoy finished, his tone betraying his bravery.

Filch nearly laughed. "Oh, there are more than werewolves in those trees, lad. You can be sure of that." He turned to look at the others. "Nighty night," he said before limping away towards the castle.

Melanie watched him go and then turned to Hagrid, who took a deep breath and picked up a glowing lantern. "Right, let's go."

She followed beside Hermione, who was positively trembling out of shock that she was in detention, as the group walked towards the dark mass that was the Forbidden Forest. Melanie had only seen it at a distance up until that point and from what she had heard of it, it was not the most pleasant place at Hogwarts. Then again, it had been Fred and George that had told her the most of it but…

"Hagrid…what is that?"

Melanie looked up to see Harry pointing at a bush. As she looked closer, Melanie saw what looked like silver paint spattered across the dark leaves, only it shimmered a bit in the moonlight.

"What we're here for. See that? That's unicorn blood, that is" Hagrid told them, his voice solemn. "I found one dead a few days ago. Now this one's been hurt bad by something. So, its our job to find the poor beast.

"Alright, Ron, Hermione you're with me. Harry, Melanie, an' Malfoy you'll go the other way."

"Then I get Fang," Malfoy said, looking at the huge bloodhound at Hagrid's side.

"Fine," Hagrid said. "Just so you know…he's a bloody coward."

Melanie and Harry turned away into the forest, keeping to the path so they didn't stray in the wrong direction. Malfoy kept Fang near him, and like she expected it wasn't long before he started to whine and complain.

"Wait till my father hears about this," he scoffed arrogantly. "This is servants' stuff."

"If I didn't know any better, Draco," Harry answered irritably, "I'd say you were scared."

"I'm not scared Potter."

In the distance an owl hooted causing Malfoy to nearly jump out of his skin.

"Did you hear that?" he stammered.

Melanie snorted. "No, not scared at all!"

She could feel Malfoy's glare burn into her back, but it only made her laugh silently.

"I'd watch my tongue if I were you, _Danielson_," he sneered.

"Then I suppose it's a good thing you're not, _Malfoy_," Melanie retorted angrily.

She was about to turn to berate him further, but a hand on her arm stopped her. She looked at Harry who just shook his head, as if to tell her it wasn't worth it. He was right, but that didn't mean she would like to hex Malfoy any less.

They walked a little farther when Fang suddenly started growling. Melanie looked back to see him slowly backing away, his eyes narrowed and his teeth bared.

"What is it, Fang?" Harry asked.

Melanie looked ahead of them and saw something white laying on the ground, the purest white she had ever seen.

"Harry…" she said slowly and he too looked over.

They walked a little further, leaving Malfoy and Fang behind them, until suddenly her eyes focused in the pitch black night. It would have been the most magnificent creature she had ever seen, if it hadn't been in such horrifying circumstances. The unicorn's beautiful white coat was marred by the silver blood that covered it. 

However it wasn't that which caused the very blood in Melanie's veins to freeze.

Hovering over the innocent creature was a black hooded figure, which seemed to show no guilt for what it was doing. It was close to the unicorn's neck, as if it was sucking the blood from that position, which sickened Melanie further.

Harry suddenly gasped beside her, and she looked over to see his hand fly to his forehead, as if he was suddenly struck by a headache. The dark figure looked up at the disturbance and stood. Behind her Malfoy screamed and Fang started barking wildly before they ran away in the opposite direction.

Suddenly feeling desperate and alone she called after them, but it was no use. They were gone and she and Harry were very, very alone.

At first she would have said the figure was a man, but she began to think otherwise when it began to float towards them, coming closer and closer. She helped Harry back away from the thing, but found that she herself was stumbling over tree roots and fallen branches. She was gripping tightly to his arm when he fell backwards, causing her to fall down beside him.

The figure seemed even more ominous as it hovered so close to them while they were trapped lying hopeless on the ground. Melanie pulled herself in close to Harry and prayed that somehow they would get away safe, just as she felt something soar over her head. Still too terrified to look up, Melanie kept her face buried in Harry's shoulder and listened as the sound of heavy footfalls echoed in her ears. A screech came to her ears and the sound of a billowing cloak and then silence.

"Mel? It's okay, it's gone," Harry whispered.

Melanie looked up to see that the dark figure was indeed gone, to be replaced by a man and his horse. Of course, it took her eyes a while to adjust before she realized that it wasn't a man and _his_ horse, it was both a man and a horse. It was a centaur.

The half-man half-horse approached then cautiously and Harry helped Melanie to her feet. As she looked at it, Melanie realized that it really was a majestic creature, with the dark skin and hair of a man and the dark coat of a steed.

"Harry Potter," the centaur said, in a deep melodic tone. "You and your friend must leave. You are known to many creatures here. The Forest is not safe at this time. Especially for you."

Harry, however, ignored the command and asked, "What was that thing you saved us from?"

"A monstrous creature," the centaur answered, spite filling his words. "It is a terrible crime, to slay a unicorn. Drinking the blood of a unicorn will keep you alive even if you are an inch from death… but at a terrible price. For if you have slain something so pure that from the moment the blood touches your lips you will have a half life. A cursed life."

"But who would choose such a life?" Harry wondered.

"Can you think of no one?"

Melanie was shocked by the first thought that came to her head, which she guessed was the same as Harry's. Voldemort would live such a life, if it meant he had the power to continue tormenting more innocent people.

"Do you mean to say," Harry began, "that that thing that killed the unicorn… that was drinking its blood. That was Voldemort?"

The centaur leaned closer to them, as if to try to stop anyone or anything else from hearing him. "Do you know what is hidden in the school at the very moment, Mr. Potter?" it asked.

"The Philosopher's Stone," Melanie answered for him, as sudden realization came to her. Voldemort could become immortal if he had the Stone, not to mention that it would bring back his strength and life. What if… could it be possible that Snape wasn't trying to steal the Stone for himself, but for Voldemort?

"Harry! Melanie!"

Melanie turned when she heard their names being called and saw the others racing through the trees towards them, Hagrid's large figure obvious among them. They stopped when they saw the centaur with them, and Hagrid let out a sigh of relief.

"Hello there, Firenze," he said. "I see you've met our young Mr. Potter and Miss Danielson. Alright there you two?"

Harry and Melanie both nodded, no matter how shaken up they still were.

"Harry Potter. Miss Danielson," Firenze said nodding in a slight bow to Harry and Melanie. "This is where I leave you both. You are safe now. Good luck."

Later that night, when they were safely back in their Common Room, Melanie realized that Harry was not about to let this go. He was now convinced that Voldemort was after him, not that they didn't think he was in the first place, but everyone said that Voldemort was long gone. But how was she supposed to explain the dark figure in the Forest and what Firenze had said.

Also Harry seemed to have come to the same conclusion that Melanie had gotten when they were in the Forest.

"You mean that You-Know-Who is out there right now in the Forest?" Hermione asked incredulously when Harry suggested the idea.

"But he's weak. He's living off unicorns," Harry said. "Don't you see? We've had it all wrong! Snape doesn't want the Stone for himself. He wants the Stone for Voldemort. With the Elixir of Life, Voldemort will become strong again. He…he'll come back."

"But if he comes back," Ron interjected, "you don't think he'll try to kill you do you?"

"I think if he had his chance he would have tried to kill me tonight."

Ron blanked. "And to think I've been worrying about my Potions final!"

"Hang on a minute," Hermione interrupted. "We're forgetting one thing. Who's the one wizard Voldemort has always feared? Dumbledore. As long as Dumbledore's around, Harry, you're safe. As long as Dumbledore's around you can't be touched."

"Hermione's right Harry," Melanie said. "Dumbledore wouldn't let anything happen to you."

After that he was comforted somewhat, but still didn't give up on the idea as the term continued and winter became spring and then summer. Long before then Hermione had them studying for exams, insisting that if they didn't do well on these they couldn't go on to second year. That took up most of Melanie's concern and all thoughts of Voldemort were pushed to the back of her mind. Now the only thing that bothered her besides exams was Harry.

He had been having dreams lately, she knew it, and by the state he was in she decided they weren't good dreams. And now sometimes when she looked at him, she would see him with his hand against his head, as if he had a constant headache.

She had told Hermione about her concerns, but she was far too busy revising to hear a word of what Melanie said. So, before their Charms exam (which she had studied the least for) she pulled him behind the group. Hermione and Ron, who were having another row, seemed not to notice they were gone.

"Harry, are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine. Why do you ask?" he said, but his eyes told her that he knew exactly what she was talking about.

"These dreams…nightmares… I've seen what they're doing to you. And all you can think about is the Stone… I'm just worried, Harry."

"Don't be. I'm fine, really. And the dreams… they're not bad at all…"

"Harry," Melanie said, pulling him to a stop. "Whenever I look at you, you're acting as if you have a terrible headache. This isn't good for you and frankly, I'm…"

"It's not that."

She looked at him curiously. "It's not what?"

"It's not a headache," Harry continued more quietly. He pulled her closer so that the passersby couldn't hear and said, "It's my scar. Ever since the Forest it's been… it's burning. And it keeps getting worse. I don't know what it means."

Melanie looked at him with wide eyes. "Your scar?"

Harry nodded.

"Have you told Ron? Or Dumbledore for that matter?" she asked.

"No, not until I figure out why."

"Harry…"

"I can't Melanie. Ron will make a fuss, you know. And Dumbledore can't be bothered."

They began to walk towards the Great Hall again when Melanie said, "It still think you should tell someone."

"I've told you," Harry said with a smile.

Melanie smiled too. "And I'm grateful, but I can't do anything about it. Dumbledore could."

Harry went silent again and they continued in silence for the rest of the trip.

The Charms exam wasn't too difficult for Melanie, she thought she did fairly well, and the practical test went without any problems. Harry had decided to tell Ron and Hermione after the exam and they had told him the same thing, to tell Dumbledore. Again he told them he wouldn't and they left the castle to go relax in the grounds.

Melanie could tell that his scar was still hurting him as she half-listened to Hermione verbally go over her exam, asking questions and then answering them herself. Suddenly, Harry stopped in his tracks and a look of realization dawned on his face.

"Of course," he muttered before quickly walking away again.

Hermione stopped her chattering to ask what was wrong, as the other three set out after him.

"Don't you think it's a bit odd," Harry explained as they walked, "that what Hagrid wants more than anything is a dragon and a stranger turns up and just happens to have one? I mean, how many people wander around with dragon eggs in their pockets? Why didn't I see it before?"

Melanie found they were soon dashing across the lawns towards Hagrid, who was sitting outside his hut playing a wooden flute. She supposed Harry was making sense, but what were the chances that a complete stranger would know Hagrid wanted a dragon? It was just too weird.

"Hagrid, who gave you the dragon egg?" Harry asked hurriedly. Hagrid stopped playing the flute and looked up at them curiously. "What did he look like?" Harry pushed.

"I dunno," Hagrid said. "I never saw his face. He kept his hood up."

"This stranger though, you and he must have talked."

"Well, he wanted to know what sort of creatures I looked after. I told him, I said after Fluffy, a dragon's going to be no problem," Hagrid said.

"Did he seem interested in Fluffy?" Harry asked.

"Well of course he was interested in Fluffy!" said Hagrid. "How often do you come across a three-headed dog even if you're in the trade? But I told him, I said, I said 'The trick with any beast is to know how to calm it him'. Take Fluffy for example, just play him a bit of music and he falls straight to sleep."

Melanie gasped and looked at the others, who shared the same look of shock on their faces.

"I shouldn't have told you that," Hagrid mumbled when he realized what he had just said.

Melanie ran off with the others, as Hagrid shouted after them. With Harry in the lead, she had no idea where they were going, but they were definitely in a hurry. She realized that they were headed to Professor McGonagall's office, but she didn't know why.

"We have to see Professor Dumbledore immediately!" Harry shouted as they ran into the room and up to her desk.

"I'm afraid Professor Dumbledore is not here," she answered. "He received and urgent Owl from the Ministry of Magic and left immediately for London."

"He's gone?" said Harry. "But this is important! It's about the Philosopher's Stone!"

Professor McGonagall's face paled as the words reached her ears and she stuttered as she spoke. "How do you know…?"

"Someone's going to try to steal it!" Harry interrupted.

McGonagall looked at them seriously. "I don't know how you four found out about the Stone but I can assure you it's perfectly well protected," she said, adjusting her glasses. "Now, would you go back to your dormitories? Quietly."

They had no choice but to leave the room, but as soon as they did Harry started up again.

"That was no stranger Hagrid met," he said. "It was Snape, which means he knows how to get past Fluffy."

Hermione looked startled. "And with Dumbledore gone…"

"Good afternoon."

Melanie turned around to see Snape hovering over them, the usual sneer on his face. She just hoped he hadn't heard anything.

"Now what would four young Gryffindors, such as yourselves, be doing inside on a day like this?"

"We were… we were just…" Hermione stuttered, obviously scared about being caught.

"You ought to be careful," Snape said coolly. "People will think you're…" he looked at Harry would was glaring right at him. Not the most subtle of looks. "…up to something."

He walked away and they waited until he was well around the corner before talking again.

"Now what do we do?" Hermione asked, still a little bit shaken up.

"We go down the trapdoor. Tonight," Harry said.

Melanie looked at him, shock written all over her face. "Harry we can't!"

"Why not?"

"Maybe you've forgotten, but we're not allowed out at night. If we're caught again, we'll be expelled for sure!"

"Snape is going tonight, Mel. And if we don't stop him, he'll get the Stone, give it to Voldemort (Ron flinched), and then we're all in trouble," Harry told her.

She had to give him that much, but she still didn't want to go down there. "There are things set up that are supposed to stop a fully grown wizard from getting to the Stone. How are four first year wizards supposed to get through that?"

"We stopped that troll on Halloween."

"That was one troll Harry!" she said. "We have no idea how many other things are set up!"

"Look," Harry said dragging her away from the other two. "I'll admit we don't have the best chance. But if we don't stop Snape nobody will and I can't let that happen. I'm going with or without you Mel."

He walked away leaving Melanie to make the biggest decision of her life. To go with her friends and risk being caught (or worse) or stay behind fretting about them and probably regretting the decision after?

It was late and Melanie was still trying to choose between staying behind or going with Harry and the others. She knew they would never hold it against her if she didn't go, but she knew she would feel terrible if something happened to one of them and she could have stopped it.

Sighing angrily she closed her eyes and prayed for the answer to come to her, when suddenly she heard a noise come from the bed beside her. Hermione must have been leaving to meet the boys. She listened as Hermione pulled her shoes on and walked across the room, opened the door, and left.

Melanie groaned inwardly and pulled the hangings away and climbed out of her bed. It was dark, but she managed to make her way over to the door without knocking anything over. She opened the door and stepped out into the silence of the Common Room. Melanie carefully walked down the stairs and heard voices, whispering hurriedly.

"I didn't hear her."

"You mean she's not coming?"

"Of course I'm coming," Melanie said as she stepped out of the shadows. She walked into the Common Room to see the other three looking at her with smiles on their faces. She stepped forward and nearly tripped over Neville, who lay frozen on the floor. Hermione's doing.

"What'd you do to him?" she asked.

"I just froze him," Hermione said innocently.

"He was trying to stop us from leaving," Harry said.

Melanie nodded and as they walked past she muttered sorry to the poor boy, who was only trying to do the right thing for his house. Together they walked out of the Common Room and Harry threw the Invisibility Cloak over them.

It was dark in the castle halls, but somehow they managed to make it through undetected and quickly arrived at the third floor corridor. As quietly as possible, in case Snape was still around, they crept inside and made their way over to the door that Fluffy was waiting behind. Harry, who was in front, cautiously opened the door and peered inside. Melanie strained her ears for any sound of growling that would come from a monstrous three-headed dog, but heard only the soft sound of a melody being played. She followed the others inside and saw that Fluffy was sleeping peacefully on the ground, all eyes closed and heads resting on its giant paws. In the corner of the room, a large musical harp stood playing, magically enchanted to continue it rhythm even though whoever conjured it was long gone.

"Wait a minute. He's snoring," Harry said. They all stepped inside and a sudden gust blew the Cloak off of them. Fluffy was snoring and with every breath he exhaled, a gust of wind blew over them.

"Snape's already been here. He put a spell on that harp," Melanie said quietly, careful not to wake the slumbering beast.

Harry stepped forward toward the napping dog and saw that the trapdoor was covered by a massive paw. "Help me move it," he said.

Melanie, Ron, and Hermione stepped forward and together they managed to slide the paw over well enough to open the trapdoor. Melanie was startled when Fluffy gave a snort, but the music was still playing so he did not wake.

The four looked down into the tunnel and saw nothing but black, which worried Melanie. They couldn't take the risk of jumping into something unknown.

"I'll go first," Harry said bluntly. "Don't follow me until I give you a sign…"

"Harry!"

"If something bad happens," he continued, completely ignoring her, "get yourselves out!"

In all the thinking about what to do, Melanie hadn't noticed that in the far corner of the room, no longer in her line of sight, something happened. The harp stopped playing.

It was only when Harry spoke that she noticed. "Does it seem a bit quiet to you?"

"UGH! YUCK!"

She looked at Ron who was attempting to wipe a disgusting amount of slobber off his shoulder. Slowly realizing what it was Melanie looked above her, along with the other three, and saw a very wide awake Fluffy staring back at him. Fluffy began to thrash and bark madly and Hermione and Ron jumped in. Melanie was pushed in and found the drop was rather short and she landed on something soft. Looking around she saw the entire room covered in thick green vines. Harry landed beside her and gave a relieved sigh.

Melanie wasn't so relieved.

"Lucky this plant thing's here really!" Ron said when suddenly a vine sprung to life and wrapped around his ankle.

He and Harry began to thrash about to avoid the creeping plant, so it seemed that only Melanie and Hermione knew what kind of trouble they were in.

"Stop moving, both of you!" Hermione told them. "This is Devil's Snare. You have to relax! If you don't, it'll only kill you faster!"

"Kill us faster?" Ron yelled. "Oh, now I can relax!"

The boys continued to move around while Hermione glared at them indignantly. Slowly the plant grew over her and she disappeared beneath the surface. Harry and Ron both shouted for her and then shouted for Melanie as she too disappeared below the surface.

She landed hard on her feet and Hermione reached out to steady her. Melanie looked up to see the bottom of the plant and through the gaps she could still see the boys moving around.

"Melanie! Hermione!" Harry shouted.

"Oh, now what are we going to do?"

"Just relax!" Hermione yelled up at them.

"Hermione? Where are you?"

"Just do as she says!" Melanie cried.

She saw Harry stop moving and soon he fell through and onto the floor. Melanie went over to help him up, but Ron was still panicking.

"He's not relaxing is he?" Hermione said.

"Apparently not."

Melanie huffed. "We've got to do something!"

"What?" Harry asked.

Above them Ron's shouts were growing muffled and Melanie couldn't help but picture the Devil's Snare wrapping itself around him and squeezing the life from him.

"I remember reading something in Herbology," Hermione said, racking her brain for anything that could help. "'Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare; its deadly fun… but will sulk in the sun!' That's it! Devil's Snare hates sunlight!"

She flicked her wand at the plant and shouted, "_Lumus Solem_!"

A bright beam of light erupted from the tip of her wand and the plant above them began to writhe in agony. Ron suddenly dropped to the ground, stood and brushed himself off.

"Ron, are you okay?" Harry asked.

"Yeah," he said, still a little shaken up. "Lucky we didn't panic!"

"Lucky Hermione pays attention in Herbology."

Ron smiled sheepishly and muttered a thank you before they set off down the dark path again.

A while later Melanie saw a door ahead of them and heard what she thought were fluttering wings.

"Do you hear that?" she asked.

The others strained their ears to listen, and they seemed to hear it too.

"What is that?" Hermione asked as they approached the door.

"I don't know. Sounds like wings," Harry replied.

Melanie arrived at the door first and pushed it open. Inside there must have been hundreds…thousands of birds flying in a tall circular chamber. They walked in, all appearing to be mesmerized by the very sight of it.

"Curious… I've never seen birds like these," Hermione said.

Just then one of the 'birds' fluttered past Melanie's face and she noticed that the were not birds.

"They're not birds…they're keys," she said.

"And I'll bet one fits that door," Harry added, pointing to a door on the opposite side of the room.

They walked over, past a suspended broom, and Ron tried to get it open.

"_Alohomora_!" he said. Nothing. "Well, it was worth a try."

"What are we going to do? There must be a thousand keys up there!" Hermione said.

"We just need to find the right one," said Melanie.

Ron, looking up, said, "We're looking for a big old fashioned one. Probably rusty like the door handle."

After looking around a few more moments Harry exclaimed, "There! I see it! The one with the broken wing!"

Melanie followed his gaze and saw it too. It was a large brass key with round wings, but one of them was broken, so it flew with a slight limp.

Harry looked over at the broomstick, but didn't make a move towards it.

"What's wrong Harry?" Hermione asked.

He shook his head wonderingly. "It's too simple," he said, nearly a whisper.

"Oh, go on Harry!" Ron said encouragingly. "If Snape can catch it on that old broomstick, you can! You're the youngest Seeker in a century!"

"He's right Harry," Melanie added. "This will be no problem for you! A snitch flies much faster than this anyway!"

Harry nodded before walking over to the broom. However, as soon as his hand touched the handle, the keys jumped into action and began zooming around madly attacking Harry as they went. He jumped onto the broom and flew upwards, swatting the keys away as he did.

"This complicates things a bit," Ron said.

Melanie watch helplessly as Harry fought his way through the swarm of keys, chasing after the one that they needed. He finally grabbed it and yelled, "Catch the key!"

He dove down and tossed the key to Hermione, who caught it and ran for the door. She jammed it into the lock and swung the door open, but Harry was still trying to get the other keys off of him.

Melanie and Ron ran through the door after Hermione and they held the door open as Harry flew inside. They closed it just in time and held it as hundreds of the wild keys hit the door, some piercing the wood of it.

Harry leapt off the broom and they continued on their way. Hermione and Ron walked ahead, as Melanie and Harry brought up the rear. She looked at him for a quick second before gasping.

"Harry! You're hurt!" she said. Across his cheek there was a long red line, from just beside his eye to near his chin. She guessed it was from a key, as they had done a lot of damage to his arms and clothes already.

"What?" he asked, clearly not having realized that he was injured.

"Right here," Melanie said as she carefully wiped away a trickle of blood that was running down his cheek. It left behind a red stain, but it could have been worse.

Shrugging he said, "I'll get it cleaned up later. We need to keep moving."

He walked ahead, but Melanie stopped. He turned to look at her, curiosity filling his eyes.

"What?" he asked.

"Sometimes you amaze me, Harry Potter," Melanie said.

Harry laughed and pulled Melanie along after the others, who had not heard a word of the conversation.

"I don't like this. I don't like this at all," Hermione said as they entered a grand chamber with great stone pillars standing tall throughout the room.

"Where are we? A graveyard?" Harry asked as they walked past another huge stone figure.

"This is no graveyard," Ron began. "It's a chessboard."

Light suddenly filled the hall as the wall torches in the hall were lit. Melanie looked around in awe, seeing that it was in fact a giant chessboard, resembling the one Ron had. The tall stone figures were the chess pieces and across the floor was the checkered pattern of the board.

"There's the door!" Harry said pointing across the hall. They all walked towards it but were abruptly stopped as a pawn jumped to life and blocked their way.

Wizard's Chess.

"Now what do we do?" Hermione asked while she backed away, a frightened look on her face.

"It's obvious isn't it?" Ron said. The others looked at him, telling him that it was _not_ obvious. "We've got to play our way across the room," he said.

Melanie had to admit, that with everything else she had seen that night, it did sort of make sense.

"Harry, you take the empty bishop's square. Melanie, you'll go where the king's side castle would be. Hermione you'll be the queen-side castle. As for me, I'll be a knight."

Melanie took her position and looked at Ron, not knowing how to play chess very well. The others looked at him as well, making it official that he was supposed to lead them through this.

"What happens next?" Melanie asked, shouting across the distance to him.

"Well, white moves first," Ron answered. "And then…we play."

An opposing pawn slide forward and Hermione asked, "Ron, you don't suppose this'll be like real Wizard's Chess, do you?"

Ron looked around the board before yelling, "You there! D-5!"

A pawn moved in front of one of the white ones and was crushed to pieces. Melanie was still staring at it with wide eyes as Ron said, "Yes, Hermione, I think this is going to be _exactly_ like Wizard's Chess."

And so they played.

Melanie made a note to congratulate Ron on spending so much bloody time playing chess, because if he hadn't been there they surely would have lost. And Melanie found herself being moved around, but never in harms way thanks to Ron's quick thinking. The white team was showing no mercy, clearly intent on stopping them from moving on.

"Pawn to C-3!" Ron yelled.

"Wait a minute," Harry said suddenly. He was closest to her, but his eyes were trained on Ron. She just wished she understood why.

"You understand right Harry," Ron answered. "Once I make my move, the queen will take me. Then you're free to check the king."

"No. Ron, no!" Harry protested.

"What is it?" Hermione asked, obviously understanding about as much as Melanie was.

"He's going to sacrifice himself!" Harry said.

"What?" Melanie asked, hoping to all hope that she had heard him wrong.

Hermione looked at Ron. "No, you can't! There must be another way!"

"Do you want to stop Snape from getting that Stone or not?" Ron said defiantly. He then turned to Harry and said, "Harry, it's _you_ that has to go on. Not me! Not Melanie! Not Hermione! You!"

Silence followed as no one dared to stop Ron in his sudden desire to be chivalrous. He took a deep breath (as did Melanie) and said, "Knight to H-3!"

The piece he was sitting on moved forward, each inch cutting deeper and deeper into Melanie. How could he be so stupid? There must have been another way! He didn't have to go through with this!

Ron stopped in front of the white queen.

"Check."

He yelled as the queen took her staff and drove it through Ron's piece. He fell to the floor before lying unconscious. Melanie went to move forward, as did Hermione, but Harry stopped them.

"No, don't move! Don't forget we're still playing!" he shouted.

Both girls watched as he stepped across the board and stood beside the queen. With determination he called, "Checkmate."

The white queen took the staff that had crushed Ron's knight and thrust it through her middle, causing her to crumble into unrecognizable pieces.

The game was over.

Melanie ran from her spot over to Ron, where Hermione and Harry were already crouching over him.

"Ron!" she exclaimed. She saw how beat up he was and that he was still out cold and it sent pain into her heart.

"Take care of Ron, and then go to the owlery. Send a message to Dumbledore. Ron's right. I have to go on," Harry told them.

"You'll be okay, Harry. You're a great wizard. You really are," Hermione said.

"Not as good as you."

"Me?" she laughed. "Books and cleverness. There are more important things. Friendship and bravery. And Harry…just be careful."

Harry nodded before turning to Melanie. "Be careful. And take care of Ron. Make sure he's alright," he said.

Melanie nodded, but everything in her told her not too. She was abandoning him again. Getting this far with four was hard enough; she couldn't let him go on to worse alone. A friend didn't do that to a friend.

By the time she had stopped debating whether to listen to what he told her to do or to follow him; Harry had already left the chamber. She took one look at Hermione, who was attempting to wake Ron up, before grabbing the Invisibility Cloak off the floor and standing up.

She walked away only a bit when Hermione said, "Where are you going?"

"After Harry," Melanie answered bluntly.

"What? Melanie!"

She continued walking until she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning around she saw Hermione's concerned face and said, "I'm going after him Hermione."

"You can't! Harry said…"

"What makes you think I do everything that Harry says? He'll need help and I'm going to give it to him," Melanie retorted.

Hermione stared at her for a while before pulling her into a hug. "Please…please, be careful," she whispered.

Melanie nodded and pulled away. She gave Hermione one last smile before pulling the Cloak over her and walking away. The last thing she heard was, "Where'd Mel and Harry go?"


	5. The End?

**AN: **Hey everyone! Sorry about the ending of the last chapter. This was supposed to be a part of it, but it was too long on its own so I had to cut it out. This chapter is **MUCH** shorter than the last one and will wrap the end of the year up.

**Read & Review! **

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or anything related to him. They are the sole property of J. K. Rowling. However Melanie and the characters from the orphanage are mine.

**Chapter 5: The End?**

The passage was dark and there was little to no light as Melanie raced down the corridor. She couldn't find Harry anywhere and was about to risk calling out to him, when a sudden light at the end of the hall appeared. Still hidden beneath the Cloak, Melanie ran forward and came upon a vast chamber set low in the ground, with pillars all around.

She crept forward and saw Harry stepping down the stairs, intently watching a vaguely familiar figure that was staring into a mirror. Melanie briefly wondered if that was the mirror Harry had found over Christmas, but brushed it aside to follow Harry. She was right behind him when the figure turned around and Harry stopped dead in his tracks.

"You? No, it can't be. Snape…he was… he was the one…"

"Yes, he does seem the type doesn't he?" interrupted Professor Quirrell, his eyes full of hate and determination. "Next to him, who would suspect p-p-poor st-st-stuttering Professor Quirrell?"

"But that day," Harry said, "during the Quidditch match…Snape tried to kill me."

Quirrell chuckled. "Oh, no, dear boy, I tried to kill you! And trust me if Snape's cloak hadn't caught on fire and broken my eye contact I would have succeeded. Even with Snape muttering his little counter curse."

Melanie couldn't believe what she was hearing! It was Quirrell all along…not Snape? But everything pointed in that direction! Nothing said that it had been Quirrell, and why would he be after the Stone anyway?

"Snape was trying to save me?" Harry asked, apparently not believing what he was hearing either.

"I knew you were a danger to me right from the start," Quirrell said, "Especially after Halloween."

"Then you let the troll in!"

"Very good Potter, yes. Snape, unfortunately, wasn't fooled, when everyone else was running about the dungeon Snape went to the third floor to head me off. He of course never trusted me again. He rarely left me alone. But he doesn't understand…I'm never alone. Never."

Quirrell looked away from Harry to gaze into the mirror again and Melanie took the opportunity. Standing right behind Harry, she said, "Don't say anything. I'm under the Cloak. Nod if you can hear me."

Harry nodded.

"I'm here for you Harry. Whenever you need me to be."

"Now what does this mirror do?" Quirrell asked, still not looking away. "I see what I desire. I see myself holding the Stone. But how do I get it?"

There was a pause and Melanie could have sworn she heard something, but ignored it when Quirrell called Harry over. "Come here Potter! Now!"

Harry cautiously stepped forward, Melanie following close behind, and Quirrell pushed him in front of the mirror. "Tell me what do you see?"

Melanie looked into the mirror and saw something she never thought she would. It looked as if behind her, and man and a woman stood smiling and waving at her. The man had dark hair and eyes and a handsome face, while the woman was fair and thin, with blue eyes like the ocean and lighter hair. They looked…they looked like she imagined _they_ would be. Perfect, loving, and most importantly…hers.

"What is it? What do you see?" Quirrell snapped, bringing Melanie out of her thought.

"I'm shaking hands with Dumbledore," Harry said. "I've won the House Cup."

Melanie might have laughed if the situation hadn't been so serious, because it was a terrible lie. She knew now for sure that this was the mirror that showed your heart's greatest desire and this definitely wasn't Harry's greatest desire.

"He lies!"

She was sure that she had heard a voice this time, but no one had opened their mouth to speak.

"Tell the truth! What do you see?" Quirrell yelled.

"Let me speak to him," said the unknown voice.

"Master, you are not strong enough," Quirrell said in a gentler tone. If Melanie didn't know any better, she would have said that he was talking to himself.

"I have strength enough for this."

Slowly Quirrell began to unravel his turban and tossed it to the ground. He then began to turn…

"Harry Potter, we meet again."

"Voldemort?"

It was as if Voldemort was sharing the same body as Quirrell, but only his less than human face could be seen. But that couldn't be possible…

"Yes, you see what I have become?" Voldemort said. "See what I must do to survive? Live off another. A mere parasite. Unicorn blood can sustain me but it cannot give me a body of my own…"

Melanie gasped. She covered her mouth hoping no one had heard and when no one acknowledged her, she relaxed slightly. But not completely.

"However," Voldemort continued. "There is something that can. Something that conveniently lies in your pocket!"

Harry made a dash for the exit and Melanie followed close behind. "Stop him!" Voldemort yelled and flames suddenly surrounded the area, stopping Melanie and Harry from escaping.

"Don't be a fool!" Voldemort shouted. "Why suffer a horrific death when you can join with me and live?"

"Never!" Harry yelled.

Voldemort laughed. "Bravery…you're parents had it too. Tell me Harry, would you like to see your mother and father again? Together we can bring them back. All I ask for is something in return."

Melanie watched in horror as Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out the Stone.

"That's it Harry. There is no good and evil, only power and those too weak to seek it. Together we'll do extraordinary things!"

Melanie ran forward and put a hand on Harry's arm to stop him. Unfortunately, Harry looked up in her direction and Voldemort noticed.

Voldemort grinned. "Ahh…so you've brought a friend I see. Why don't you come out to play?"

Take off the Cloak or pretend you didn't hear him? This battle raged inside her until Melanie grabbed the Cloak and yanked it off of her. It fell to the ground so that both Harry and Voldemort could see her.

His eyes grew wide for a moment, but she didn't know why. He already knew she was there, so how could there be any surprise.

Then he laughed. "Very interesting," he said as he seemed to examine her. "Tell me girl, what is your name?"

Melanie kept her mouth shut, but Voldemort seemed unfazed by it.

"Stubborn," he laughed. "Ahh, yes… Melanie isn't it?"

If she had been looking in a mirror she was sure she would have seen the colour drain from her face.

"So they did find you after all? Even after they worked so hard to erase you…"

Voldemort looked away from her and turned to Harry. "It's such a shame Harry, that some know nothing about themselves. And then when they find out…well everything changes after that doesn't it?

"Now Harry, give me the Stone!"

"No!" 

"Kill them!"

Melanie jumped back as Quirrell lunged at them, knocking the Stone from Harry's hand as he fell. She ran over to them, grabbing Quirrell by the robes and pulling, but she was sent flying backwards through the air. Melanie's back hit the ground and her head smashed against the stone floor, sending stars in front of her eyes. She blinked as she pulled herself up and after a while she saw Harry still struggling beneath Quirrell, who had his hands around Harry's throat.

"Harry!" she yelled as she slowly climbed to her feet.

It seemed her yell was distraction enough because the next thing Melanie heard was Quirrell screaming in pain. She looked up and saw him holding his hand while Harry stared down at his hands.

"What is this magic?" Quirrell yelled.

"Fool! Get the Stone!" Voldemort ordered.

Quirrell went in to attack Harry again, but as Harry put his hands on Quirrell's face he screamed in agony and fell back. Melanie watched as his face began to crumble like old stone and soon he fell forward into nothing but a pile of dust and empty robes.

"Harry?" Melanie said as she stumbled over to him. "Harry, are you alright?"

He nodded to her before bending down and picking up the Stone. It looked to her like a red ruby, but natural and uncut, about the size of her palm.

"What…?"

Suddenly a howling cry came from behind her and she just managed to move away as a cloud of dark grey smoke went straight through Harry's chest before disappearing. Harry fell to his knees and then to the ground, unconscious.

"Harry!" Melanie cried as she made her way over to him. She took his head and rested it on her knees, before taking his hand. "Harry, wake up. Please, wake up," she begged. It was then that she noticed the Stone in his limp hand. Slowly she reached out and held it in her hand, weighing and looking closely at it.

"Oh, Merlin!"

Melanie looked up the steps to see Professor McGonagall rushing down them, Professor Dumbledore not far behind. Melanie continued to hold Harry and the Stone until they reached the bottom.

"Miss Danielson! How did you…oh, dear! Albus, Potter he's…!"

"He will be perfectly well Minerva. If you would be so kind as to take Mr. Potter up to the Hospital Wing, I would like a word with Miss Danielson," Dumbledore instructed.

Melanie watched as Harry was lifted away up the steps and only when they were alone did Dumbledore speak. "It was a brave thing you and your friends did…foolish, but brave."

Melanie smiled. He had just perfectly described them.

"I will need, of course, a full description of the night's events, but I feel as though there are certain questions that you are wishing to ask."

Melanie walked over to the mirror and stood in front of it, knowing that Dumbledore had followed.

"Harry told me about this, after Christmas," she said. "He told me it showed you your heart's greatest desire."

"Indeed."

"I don't understand," Melanie said turning around to look at him. "When I looked into the mirror, I saw…"

"What you have always wished for whether you knew it or not," Dumbledore said. "When I first met you, it amazed me how a child could be so happy and carefree, not the least bit curious as to where her family had gone. And then I realized that it had never been a concern because you had never had anything else.

"I had planned on telling you before the End of Term Feast, but now is as good a time as any."

"You found out something about my parents?" Melanie guessed.

"I still don't know who they were or what happened, but I know that they left you in the care of a Muggle orphanage in order to hide you," Dumbledore told her.

Melanie was confused. "Hide me? Hide me from what?"

"Alas," he sighed, "I do not know. I can only guess that it was something very important for your parents to be forced to give you up."

"Professor? Earlier Voldemort…sorry, You-Know-Who said that they found me even after they tried to erase me. What do you think that means?"

Dumbledore seemed to think for a moment, but said, "I do not know Melanie, but I will work on that. Is there anything else that Voldemort told you?"

"No…but, it was like he knew me," Melanie said.

"Voldemort knows many people, my dear. It does not surprise me that he knew who you were."

"But it was like he _knew_ me. Personally. He looked surprised to see me."

Again Dumbledore fell into thought, but seemed to either not have any idea or choose not to tell her.

"Perhaps, in time, we will have answers to these questions. For now, I believe a good rest and dreamless sleep potion is needed."

Melanie smiled and followed the Professor away from the mirror and towards the exit of the chamber.

"Oh, Professor!" she exclaimed.

Dumbledore stopped and looked at her with a smile on his face. Melanie held out her hand, where the Stone lay sparkling in it.

"I took this from Harry after he fell," she said. "Maybe…"

"Yes, my dear child. Perhaps it is best that I hold onto it," Dumbledore said, taking it from her hand and dropping it in his pocket. "Now," he continued, "let us leave this place in hopes of some comfort and maybe if we're lucky we'll be able to find some sweets."

It had taken Ron a while to wake up after the incident with the chess game, but when he did he went right back to his usual self. Hermione was mostly unharmed, albeit a few bumps and nicks, and had taken to staying in the library. Perhaps all the excitement had gotten to her a bit. Melanie however, was perfectly healthy managing to escape with the least amount of injuries.

Harry was a different story. It had been a few days, yet he had still not woken up. Madam Pomfrey didn't seem at all too worried about him, giving Melanie some reassurance, but she still fretted over it. She had taken to visiting him as much as possible between Ron and Hermione, but the most she could do was sit and watch.

She was on her way to the Hospital Wing by herself and came to the door when she heard a very familiar voice carry through.

"Does that mean with the Stone gone that is, that Voldemort can never come back?"

Melanie nearly screamed with delight. Harry was awake! She might have even burst through the door if she hadn't heard Dumbledore speak next.

"Ah, I'm afraid there are ways in which he can return," Dumbledore answered. "Harry do you know why Professor Quirrell couldn't bear to have you touch him? It was because of your mother…"

Melanie suddenly found she felt guilty for listening to the conversation, but her curiosity was too great to control. She had been wondering that exact thing since she had been brought back to the school, because she knew it was that, and only that that saved them.

Dumbledore continued, "She sacrificed herself for you. And that kind of act leaves a mark. No, no this kind of mark cannot be seen. It lives in your very skin."

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"Love Harry. Love," he answered, the tone of his voice betraying that he had a twinkle in his eye.

Not able to contain herself anymore, Melanie burst through the door and flew into the wing.

"Harry! You're awake!" she cried as she ran over to his bed and enveloped him in a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"You too, Melanie," Harry said, hugging her back.

"Miss Danielson has not left your side since you were brought here," Dumbledore told him with a chuckle.

"Really?" Harry asked surprised.

Melanie blushed slightly before saying, "Ron's up too. Both he and Hermione will be excited when they hear you're up."

Harry smiled and then Dumbledore spoke up again as he poked around the gifts at the end of Harry's bed.

"Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans," he said as he picked up an already open box. "I was most unfortunate in my youth to come across a vomit flavored one. Since then I'm afraid I've lost my liking for them. But…"

Melanie and Harry smiled as he reached in and picked one out. "I think I could be safe with a nice toffee… Alas! Earwax!"

Harry and Melanie laughed and Dumbledore left, not before taking another bean.

"Thank you."

Melanie turned from the doors Dumbledore had just left through and looked at Harry confusedly. "For what?" she asked.

"For coming after me," Harry said, "even when I asked you not too. I don't know how I would have got through that on my own."

"You would have been fine," Melanie answered, a small smile on her face.

There was a short pause before Harry grinned. "Knew your stubbornness would be good for something," he said jokingly.

"Hey! I'll have you know…!"

"Mr. Potter," Madam Pomfrey interrupted. "You are free to go upon the Headmaster's orders."

She left and Melanie followed and she waited outside while Harry got changed. When he came out, he looked as free as a bird while he stretched his arms and legs obviously glad to be out of bed.

"Let's go find Ron and Hermione," Melanie said before dragging him off nearly at a run, finding it difficult to believe what they had just gone through.

The End of Term Feast was a mixture of emotions for Melanie. She was excited that the summer had arrived, but she was sad that it would be another two months before she saw her friends again. And the feast itself held mixed feelings, though she knew it would be great she already knew that Slytherin would win the House Cup. Either way she found herself seated beside Hermione as the rest of their school listened to Dumbledore, who was making his speech.

"Another year gone," he began. "And now as I understand it, the House Cup needs awarding. And the points stand as thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor with 312 points."

There was a scattered applause and looking around, Melanie didn't see too many happy faces at the Gryffindor table. She felt slightly responsible.

"Third place, Hufflepuff with 352 points," Dumbledore continued. "In second place Ravenclaw with 426 points. And in first place, with 502 points, Slytherin House."

A great cheer erupted from the Slytherin table as the house clapped and yelled victory. No one in Gryffindor applauded, and only a few from the other houses were gracious enough to politely congratulate them.

"Yes, yes. Well-done Slytherin. Well-done Slytherin," Dumbledore praised as the Great Hall fell back into silence once more. "However recent events must be taken into account. And I have a few last-minute points to award."

Melanie looked over at the others and it seemed they were as surprised as she was.

"To Miss Hermione Granger, for the cool use of intellect when others were in grave peril. 40 points."

Melanie cheered as Hermione went beat red and looked down at her plate.

"Second, to Mr. Ronald Weasley, for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen these many years. 40 points."

If possible, Ron went redder than Hermione and Melanie laughed.

"Third, to Miss Melanie Danielson, for showing sheer determination and loyalty in helping her friends. 50 points."

Now it was the others' turn to laugh as Melanie felt her face heat up as the colour rose up to her cheeks.

"And forth to Mr. Harry Potter, for pure nerve and outstanding courage. I award Gryffindor House 60 points."

It was amazing! They were actually up! They were…

"We're tied with Slytherin!" Hermione exclaimed as the rest of they held their breath for the tie breaker.

"And finally," Dumbledore said. "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies. But a great deal more to stand up to your friends. I award 10 points to Neville Longbottom."

Melanie looked down the table to where Neville looked completely awe struck, not moving as those around him clapped him on the back and congratulated him.

"Assuming my calculations are correct I believe that a change of decoration is in order," Dumbledore stated. With a clap of his hands the green and silver Slytherin banners were magically replaced by gold and scarlet ones, the Gryffindor House colors.

"Gryffindor wins the House Cup!"

The table erupted as joyous screaming and chatter broke out. Melanie rose with the rest of her house, congratulating those fellow members around her. They had won! They had won the House Cup!

Melanie struggled to push her way through the crowd carrying all her luggage as she made her way over to the train. Ron was somewhere ahead of her, and Hermione and Harry were behind her as they all tried to get through the crowd of students who were all just as desperate to get on.

Finally she found Ron who had gone ahead and saved them a compartment and pulled her truck inside. With his help, she managed to load it onto the top rack before she collapsed into a seat. Hermione took the seat across from her, a book in her hands, and Ron took the one beside her, staring out the window.

"Where's Harry?" Melanie asked, when she noticed they were missing someone.

"Here!" Harry said as he entered the compartment with his things. He shoved them onto the rack and fell into the seat beside her, a large album resting on his lap.

"Feel's strange to be going home doesn't it?" Hermione asked as the train pulled out of the station.

"I'm not going home," Harry said with a smile. "Not really."

It was then that Melanie realized it wasn't the end of their adventure…

It was just the beginning.


	6. Old Faces, New Worries

**AN: **Yey! The beginning of a new chapter and a new year! This starts off during the summer and will continue to follow Melanie and the others through the beginning of their second year. Thanks to all those who reviewed the last chapter! You guys are great!

**Read & Review! **

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or anything related to him. They are the sole property of J. K. Rowling. However Melanie and the characters from the orphanage are mine.

**Chapter 6: Old Faces, New Worries**

"Melanie! Hello, anyone home?"

Melanie snapped out of her daydream to find Faye looking at her curiously. The girl hadn't changed much since the Christmas of Melanie's first year at Hogwarts; the only exception was that her hair was longer. Melanie hadn't changed much either, she was only a bit taller and her hair was only an inch longer. She was still Melanie.

"Sorry, what did you say?" Melanie asked.

"I said…" Faye began, "that I wished the summer had been longer. It's already over!"

Melanie had spent the summer at the orphanage, only being able to write letters to Hermione, Ron, or Harry. And that's what had her worried.

She had sent at least one letter a week to Harry, and he hadn't answered a single one. She was scared for him; she knew how horrible his aunt and uncle were…they wouldn't have done something to him. Would they?

"Melanie?"

For the hundredth time that day, Melanie looked up to see a nearly annoyed look on Faye's face.

"What's wrong?" Faye asked. "You've been acting like this all week."

Melanie sighed. "It's nothing. I'm just…"

"You can't lie to me Mel. I know something's up. I just wish you'd trust me enough to tell me."

Faye left the room and Melanie gave a frustrated sigh. All summer Faye had been trying to pull information out of her, but Melanie just couldn't tell her! Its not that she didn't trust Faye, it's that she didn't think she would believe her if she said, 'Oh, I'm just worried about my friend from school. You know the one where they teach us magic and I nearly got killed last year?'

Plus, Melanie wasn't allowed to tell anyone.

Just then an owl fluttered through the window. She recognized it immediately; it was Ron's owl, Erol. The poor thing must have been going senile, she thought, nearly every time she saw it, it crashed into something or knocked something over.

She jumped up from her bed and went over to him, took the letter he was carrying and ushered him back out the window. He snapped his beak angrily at her, clearly thinking that he would have been able to rest and eat while he was there. Melanie would have allowed him, except if Faye walked back in and saw an owl in the room; it might have been difficult to explain.

Melanie opened the letter and began to read the messy scrawled writing that she had come to identify as Ron's.

Melanie,

I was wondering if you've heard from Harry yet. I haven't and neither has Hermione. So, Fred and George are going to take me to go get him. We don't care what trouble we'll get into by Mum, if Harry's in trouble we're going to help him.

He'll probably stay here for the rest of the holidays. That is if Mum doesn't kill us before we can leave to get him.

We'll see you at school!

Ron

P.S. Don't feed Erol. If you do he'll never leave.

Melanie laughed before going over to the desk in the corner of the room and pulling out a bit of parchment and a quill.

Dear Ron,

No, I haven't heard from Harry. I'm so worried about him. I wish I could come with you to get him, but the Matron has been keeping a very close eye on me for some reason.

Can't wait to see both of you at school! Maybe we'll even see each other at Diagon Alley, if you haven't already gone yet.

Melanie

P.S. I didn't plan to. It wouldn't be too easy to explain why there was an owl in my room anyway.

Melanie folded the letter and called out the window to Erol. The owl flew back into the room and Melanie tied the note to his leg, before he flew back out and disappeared.

She hoped Ron could get to Harry okay. She hoped Harry himself was okay. But most of all, she hoped that even with the two months of separation their friendship was still strong.

Melanie had agreed to meet Hermione in Diagon Alley so that they could do their shopping together, but Mrs. Danielson had still insisted on coming with her. Melanie briefly wondered if this was out of precaution or because Mrs. Danielson wanted to see all the magic for herself. Either way, Melanie took her into the Leaky Cauldron and to the back room, where the brick wall still stood. It took a while for Melanie to get the pattern right (and endless questions from the Matron didn't help either), but when she finally did the bricks finally began to shift and create a large opening.

Mrs. Danielson stood transfixed, and Melanie had to drag her through the arch and into Diagon Alley.

It was the same as last summer and it still carried the same magical quality that Melanie had first noticed. She pulled Mrs. Danielson through the bustling crowd, past the numerous shops and stands towards the huge white building at the very end. Gringotts.

"Melanie!" Hermione cried as soon as she saw Melanie approach the building. She ran down the steps towards her and Melanie was engulfed in a hug.

"Hermione, it's so good to see you!" Melanie said, laughing with her dearly missed friend.

"It's so good to see you too!" Hermione exclaimed. "I can't believe it's been two months already! I can't wait to get back to school. Did you know…?"

"Hermione, one thing at a time!" Melanie laughed. "Maybe we should get our supplies first?"

Hermione laughed before taking Melanie's hand and pulling her over to her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Granger smiled at her and asked how her summer had been and Melanie answered politely. She then introduced Mrs. Danielson, who was acting as her 'grandmother'.

"It's wonderful to meet you," Mr. Granger said as he shook the Matron's hand.

"Yes, Hermione told us about Melanie's parents," Mrs. Granger added in a quiet tone. Melanie assumed that she was not meant to hear it, but she did. Not that it bothered her; she just wondered what Hermione had said.

"Such a shame…a terrible accident," said Mr. Granger.

Melanie looked at Hermione curiously, and then turned to Mrs. Danielson.

"Yes, it was a terrible…accident?"

"Let's go get our things now!" Hermione interrupted, saving her parents from asking more questions.

Melanie and Hermione walked ahead as Mrs. Danielson and Hermione's parents talked about Muggle things. Her arm linked through Hermione's she asked, "What exactly did you tell them, Hermione?"

"I told them it was a car accident," she answered. "It was the best I could come up with when they asked. I told them not to ask too many questions though… you're still pretty broken up about it."

Melanie smiled. She was grateful that Hermione, who had the most difficult time lying to anyone never mind adults, had kept this secret for her. She just hoped Mrs. Danielson could do the same.

They bought their school robes and other necessities and were making their way through the crowd toward Flourish and Blotts, with the adults behind them. Together they entered the shop and immediately recognized Ron and his family, the group of ginger haired kids were difficult to misplace.

"Ron!" Melanie cried when she saw him.

He turned around at the sound of his name and smiled before pushing through the crowd toward them.

"Blimey, you're short Mel," he said as soon as he reached her.

Melanie scowled. "Short? I'm not short. You're gigantic!"

"I was only kidding!" Ron said, raising his hands in defense.

"Where's Harry?" Hermione asked.

Melanie stopped and looked around the shop. Harry was nowhere in sight.

"Isn't he supposed to be with you?" Melanie asked.

"He was," Ron answered. "We Flooed here this morning. He never showed up at the Leaky Cauldron. Mum's in a right state."

Melanie looked around him over to Mrs. Weasley, whom she recognized from last year. The short, plump woman was looking around frantically while at the same time talking to a taller man who also had red hair. Melanie assumed this was Mr. Weasley though she had not met him.

"Maybe we should go look for him?" Hermione suggested. "He can't have gone too far."

"Let's go," said Melanie and they began to head for the exit when Mrs. Weasley called across the room.

"Ronald! Come get in line!"

Ron groaned and looked at them hopefully, wishing they would make him disappear.

"We'll find him," Melanie said before pulling Hermione out of the shop.

It was still busy in the street and Melanie could barely see through the crowd, but both she and Hermione craned their necks in search for their friend. They searched for minutes and were about to give up when Hermione pointed through the crowd.

"There! Hagrid's with him!" 

Sure enough, pushing through the crowd was Hagrid's huge form and beside him was Harry. Melanie and Hermione raced forward through the crowd toward them.

"Harry!" Hermione called.

He looked up at his name and smiled as they finally stopped in front of them. Harry, like Ron, had grown taller over the summer and his hair, though it was covered in soot, was longer.

"Hello, Hagrid. Oh, it's wonderful to see you two again," Hermione said. She looked at Harry strangely and Melanie wondered what she was looking at. She casually drew her wand and pointed it between Harry's eyes.

"_Oculus Reparo_."

Harry's glasses, which were broken yet again, mended themselves magically. Harry took them off and looked at them, a smile growing on his face.

"I need to remember that one," he said.

Hermione and Melanie smiled. "C'mon," Hermione said. "Everyone's been so worried!"

They set off through the crowd again toward Flourish and Blotts, this time towing Harry and Hagrid with them. Melanie noticed it was much easier going back this time, seeing as the other wizards and witches just cleared a path for Hagrid's massive form.

They entered the over-crowded shop and Mrs. Weasley instantly swooped down on Harry, brushing off the soot and dirt that covered his face and jacket.

"Oh, Harry. Thank goodness," she said. "We hoped you'd only gone one grate too far. Come now. This way."

She bustled him over to the place where the rest of the Weasleys were standing in line. Melanie didn't understand exactly why they had to wait, but she placed the thought in the back of her mind and went over to them. Mrs. Danielson was waiting there nervously, as were Hermione's parents. Clearly they were questioning what they were doing there.

Ron finally greeted Harry and Melanie moved up behind them next to Hermione, who started rambling away.

"Isn't it thrilling? Gilderoy Lockhart's going to be here! We can actually meet him! I mean, he's written almost the entire booklist for this year!" she squealed.

Harry looked back at Melanie with a frown on his face. "Who?" he asked.

Melanie just shrugged; she had no idea who Hermione was rambling on about.

Suddenly the crowd inside the shop erupted in clapping and cheers as a man stepped out from the back room. He was tall, with golden hair and pearl-like teeth. Melanie supposed he was handsome, as he winked at the lady in front and smiled for the man taking pictures. However somehow she thought he might have been a little empty-headed.

Gilderoy Lockhart sat at the desk at the front of the line, taking the first copy of his book, Magical Me, from the top of the pile.

Melanie nearly laughed as Mrs. Weasley caught sight of him and began to fix her perfectly fine hair.

"Oh, there he is!" she exclaimed.

Ron rolled his eyes and said, "Mum fancies him."

Mrs. Weasley unfortunately heard this remark and gave Ron a jab on the shoulder.

"Who is that man?" Mrs. Danielson asked from behind her.

Melanie turned, only to be bumped by a short man holding a rather large camera, who was pushing through the crowd.

"Gilderoy Lockhart," Melanie answered once the man had passed. "He wrote the books for this year's Defense class."

Mrs. Danielson made an 'O' shape with her mouth before returning her attention to the shelf of books beside them.

"Out of the way!" the small camera man shouted.

Melanie looked up to see him squeeze between Ron and Harry, who were at least a head taller than him, as he tried to get the best shot.

"This is for the Daily Prophet!" he gloated.

Lockhart looked up and flashed the man a smile, but it faded as his eyes set upon the audience. Upon Harry.

"It can't be Harry Potter?"

Melanie could see Harry try to slink away as the rest of the shop turned in his direction. She felt sorry for him. It seemed everywhere he went someone noticed him.

Before Harry could get away, Lockhart reached forward and grabbed him by the arm, roughly dragging him toward the front. Harry was turned toward the photographer, not looking at all pleased to be there. Lockhart smiled and Harry stood stock-still as the camera flashed, capturing the scene for the rest of the British wizarding community to see.

She thought it was over, as did Harry. He made to move away from the spotlight, but was grabbed by the shoulder as Lockhart opened his overly-bright mouth.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" he announced so the whole shop could hear. "What an extraordinary moment this is! When young Harry stepped into Flourish and Blotts this morning to purchase my autobiography, Magical Me," a round of clapping began as Lockhart grinned, "which, incidentally is currents celebrating its twenty-seventh week atop The Daily Prophet's Bestseller List…"

For some odd reason, Melanie got the idea that this man was just a tad full of himself.

"…he had no idea that he would, in fact, be leaving with my entire collected works! Free of charge!"

Another louder round of clapping started as a tall pile of books was shoved into Harry's arms and another picture was taken. Mortified, Harry left the desk and walked back through the crowd towards where Melanie and the others were standing. Mrs. Weasley, completely over-joyed, took the books from Harry in order to get them signed.

"Can we please go?" Harry mumbled quietly as people still continued to stare at him.

The others nodded and Melanie handed her books to Mrs. Danielson, who looked very confused at what just happened.

"Did that friend of yours win a contest?" she asked as she took Melanie's books.

"Not really," Melanie answered.

"Then what…?"

"They don't have to be signed," Melanie interrupted. "Just pay for them please."

Rummaging through her pockets, she pulled out an odd number of galleons, sickles, and knuts. She quickly counted out the exact amount and handed it to Mrs. Danielson.

"Here," Melanie said. "That's all you'll need. I'll be outside."

Mrs. Danielson nodded and entered the line behind Mrs. Weasley, who still looked as if she were in heaven.

Melanie grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him towards the shop door, with Ron, Hermione, and Ron's sister Ginny (who she had not noticed until just then) following. They had nearly made it outside when none other than Draco Malfoy stepped in front of them.

He hadn't changed one bit over the summer; he still had the same wicked sneer and slicked back blonde hair. In other words, he was still the root of evil.

"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" he sneered. "Famous Harry Potter. Can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page."

"Leave him alone," Ginny warned, appearing on Harry's other side.

"Oh, look Potter!" Malfoy laughed. "You got yourself a girlfriend!"

"Shut your mouth, Malfoy!" Melanie snapped, unable to contain her annoyance or anger any longer.

Malfoy turned on her, his sneer becoming nastier if possible. "What? Jealous, Danielson?"

She continued to glare at him, but he looked past her shoulder. Her curiosity getting the better of her (as it usually did), Melanie looked back to see Mrs. Danielson looking uncertainly around the shop, appearing completely out of place. Her attention only came back to Malfoy when he said, "Stupid Muggle."

Melanie's glare grew even darker as he continued. "Doesn't know what they're doing. They're all stupid if you ask me. Wouldn't you agree, Danielson?"

In a matter of seconds, her wand was out and pointed right between his eyes. Malfoy, however, just continued to smirk at her.

"You take that back, Malfoy!" Melanie demanded.

People around her were starting to stare as her wand hovered just inches from his face, but she didn't care. He wasn't going to insult her only family and get away with it.

"You know that, _Muggle_?" he asked, making the last word sound like a curse-word.

"Take it back!" she cried.

Now people were beginning to look at her like she was a psycho and she admitted she was acting a tad rash. That wasn't going to make her lower her wand though. She faintly heard Hermione give a warning, asking her to put her wand away, but Melanie was too concentrated on the ugly git before her to really hear it.

"Are you going to make me?" Malfoy sneered, stepping even closer to the tip of her wand. Melanie wavered a bit. She wanted to curse him so bad! She wanted him to hurt! But she shouldn't cause a scene. She wouldn't.

Her wand dropped to her side, but her glare didn't leave her face.

Malfoy grinned. "Didn't think so, you filthy…"

"Now, now, Draco," said a man who appeared behind him. Melanie knew immediately that this was Malfoy's father; the resemblance was uncanny. He had the exact same hair, only his was much longer. And he had the same trademark Malfoy sneer.

"Play nicely," Mr. Malfoy said. His eyes flicked from Melanie to her wand and finally to Harry.

"Ah…Mr. Potter…" Mr. Malfoy said 'politely'. "Lucius Malfoy. We meet at last."

She thought Mr. Malfoy was about to shake Harry's hand, but instead Harry was yanked forward as the man examined the scar on his forehead.

"Forgive me," Mr. Malfoy said, though his apology sounded insincere. "But your scar is legend. As, of course, is the wizard who gave it to you."

Harry jerked away from Mr. Malfoy's grip, a frown upon his face. "Voldemort killed my parents. He was nothing more than a murderer," he said.

"Hmm," Mr. Malfoy replied dryly, "you must be very brave to mention _his_ name… or very foolish."

"Fear of the name only increases the fear of the thing itself," Hermione said.

Mr. Malfoy's eyes focused on her. "And you must be… Miss Granger?" He looked over at his son for confirmation. "Yes, Draco's told me all about you… and your parents… Muggles aren't they?"

Hermione did not answer; she only glared at Mr. Malfoy. Unfazed he turned to Melanie who was still angry from her 'disagreement' with the other Malfoy, who was off to the side smirking as his father talked.

"Now what do we have here?" Mr. Malfoy said as he studied her. She couldn't help but notice (or think, she wasn't sure which) that his eyes grew in recognition, just as Voldemort's had the end of last year. Why?

"Odd," Mr. Malfoy continued. "Tell me…how are _your_ parents?"

Melanie's glare disappeared to be replaced by a look of curiosity and confusion. How did he know?

"But of course," Mr. Malfoy said. "You have no family. Shame…and your only _relative_ is… incapable…"

He turned next to Ron and Ginny, leaving Melanie with no new answers and a million more questions.

"Let me see," he began as he surveyed the two. "Red hair…vacant expressions…"

Melanie's blood began to boil. How dare he? Who did he think he was to walk around insulting people? If he wasn't a much more advanced wizard than she, she would have considered drawing her wand on him. And then Malfoy.

"…tatty second-hand book…you must be the Weasleys," Mr. Malfoy finished. He had taken one of Ginny's books from her cauldron and the look of distaste grew in his expression.

"Children! It's mad in here. Let's go outside," Mr. Weasley interrupted as he suddenly appeared in their group. Melanie was grateful that they now had an adult on their side, not that she wouldn't attack both Malfoys if she had too.

"Well, well, well," Mr. Malfoy said. "Weasley Senior."

"Lucius," Mr. Weasley answered shortly, his dislike of the man before him evident.

"Is it a busy time at the Ministry, Arthur?" Lucius Malfoy asked. "All those extra raids… I do hope they're paying you over-time."

He gave a final look at Ginny's book and the rest of them. "But judging by the state of this, I'd say not."

Mr. Weasley gave no remark, though Melanie could tell he was having a difficult time remaining composed.

"What's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard, if they're not even paying you well for it?"

"We have a very different idea about what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy," Mr. Weasley said. Melanie had to admire him for staying so adult-like. She wouldn't have been able to handle it.

"Clearly," Lucius Malfoy sneered. "Associating with Muggles…" He cast one more look in the direction of Hermione's parents, before dropping Ginny's book back into her cauldron and standing inches away from Mr. Weasley's face. "And I thought you could sink no lower…"

When Mr. Weasley did not retaliate as he had most likely wanted, Mr. Malfoy merely smirked. "I'll see you at work."

He turned and left the shop, and Malfoy took his place, but this time in front of Harry.

"See you at school."

He turned, and with one last glare in her direction, left the shop.

When she left the shop Melanie had her arms laden with a number of new books, and all had been autographed. Mrs. Danielson, who was completely unaware of what had occurred, as well as Mrs. Weasley made sure everything was bought before they prepared to leave.

"How about a treat then?" Mrs. Weasley suggested.

Of course everyone agreed and soon they were piling into Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. It seemed their number was a bit overwhelming for the small shop, but Mr. Fortescue helped push three tables together so that the very large group could sit together. Melanie found her place between Hermione and Harry.

Having never been to Fortescue's herself (the last time Hagrid went in and got her and Harry something), Melanie didn't know which flavor to choose. And some were ridiculous! Broccoli flavored ice cream? Honestly! She ended up picking regular chocolate ice cream.

Mrs. Danielson, who seemed to be getting along very well with Mrs. Weasley, was quite content with allowing Melanie to go to look at the Quidditch shop just down the road. So Melanie followed Harry, Ron, and Hermione out of the parlor and they began walking towards the Quidditch shop.

As they were looking around in the store Harry approached her as Ron and Hermione walked further into the shop.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Melanie looked at him curiously. "Of course I'm fine. Why shouldn't I be?"

Harry sighed. "Well it's just that… what Malfoy said…"

"I could honestly care less about what comes out of that snake's mouth," Melanie replied, her tone full of disgust.

"I know," Harry said. "I wasn't talking about _Draco_ Malfoy, though."

Again Melanie stopped her browsing and looked at him. "Mr. Malfoy? What about him?" she asked, though she knew perfectly well what Harry was trying to get at.

"I heard what he said about your parents, Mel. I know you're thinking about that."

"I'm not," Melanie lied. "He couldn't possibly have known them…he was lying."

Harry looked at her with a serious expression, and Melanie sighed. She knew she couldn't keep lying to Harry, not after all he had shared about his parents. He was her best friend after all; she knew she could trust him.

"But how Harry? How could he have known them?"

"I don't know," Harry said. "Maybe they went to school together?"

"No," Melanie answered shaking her head. "Dumbledore didn't say that they went to Hogwarts. I'm sure Mr. Malfoy did."

"Maybe… maybe he knew this relative of yours?" Harry suggested.

Melanie thought about it. It was possible, but she didn't know who this relative was! What was more, if she had a relative, did they know about her? And if they did, why hadn't they tried to find her?

"Maybe," Melanie agreed. "But who knows. That relative could be dead for all I know."

Melanie spent the rest of the holidays hiding her things from Faye, which proved to be more difficult then she first thought. It seemed the girl was determined to find out what Melanie was hiding. It had gotten to the point where Melanie had finally asked the Matron if she could put her things in her room, where Faye would never think to look. So now the only thing she had in her room was her wand, which she kept at all times, and the stuffed lion Harry had gotten for her last Christmas.

When the last day of the summer holiday arrived Melanie was both excited and sad to leave. She missed Hogwarts and being able to do magic, but she would miss Faye and the others as well. So half-heartedly, Melanie got into the car with Mrs. Danielson and made her way to King's Cross Station.

It was as busy as ever and it took Melanie some time to weave her way through the crowd to reach Platform Nine and Three Quarters. She had assured Mrs. Danielson that she would be fine on her own, and so the Matron had not come inside with her.

She finally reached the wall and casually leaned against the barrier, disappearing through to the other side. The platform was packed with other students saying goodbye to their families, but Melanie managed to make her way through. She reached the train and loaded her truck onto it, before going off to find the compartment that the others would already be on.

Melanie eventually found the compartment, but only Hermione was inside. As they waited for the boys to show up, they talked about all the things they would do in the coming year and all the exciting things that would happen. But as time passed Melanie grew more and more anxious. Harry and Ron were no where in sight, and time was ticking away. The train leaved _exactly_ at eleven o'clock, it wasn't going to wait for anyone.

Before she knew it, the train suddenly lurched forward, and began to leave the station. While looking out the window Melanie asked, "Where are they?"

It turned out that Harry and Ron never made it on the train, but Melanie and Hermione only found that out after they got to Hogwarts. And one of the two geniuses had thought of taking the Weasley family car, the blue Ford Angela that was bewitched to fly. They did make it to Hogwarts in the car, but nine muggles had spotted the flying car along the way and they had crashed into the Whomping Willow that had been on the school grounds for years. They car had yet to be found; Harry and Ron said it disappeared into the Forbidden Forest.

"Detention? On the first day?" Neville asked, as the group of second year Gryffindors made their way down to the greenhouses. Melanie was walking between him and Harry.

"That must be some kind of record!" Seamus said.

"I should think you'd count yourself lucky that's all you got," Hermione told the boys.

Ron looked at her grumpily. "I should think you'd mind your own business."

"Ron, stop," Melanie said. "Hermione's right. You two are very lucky you weren't expelled."

"Thanks to Dumbledore," Harry said. "Snape was more than ready to kick us out."

"That's Snape for you," Melanie said. "Frankly, I think one detention was a little lenient on Dumbledore's part."

"You think we should have gotten worse?" Ron argued. "Are you mad?"

"Says the boy who thought it'd be fine to fly a car to school," Melanie countered.

Ron shut up after that, knowing that she was right.

They entered the greenhouse and crowded around the long table, ready for their first Herbology class of the year. Professor Sprout, a squat little witch, greeted each of them, before addressing the entire class.

"Welcome to Greenhouse Three, Second Years," she said. "Today, we will be re-potting Mandrakes. Now, who here can tell me the properties of the Mandrake?"

Hermione of course was the only one with her hand up.

"Yes, Miss Granger."

"Mandrake, or Mandragora, is used to return those who have been transfigured to their original state," she stated. "It's also quite dangerous. The Mandrake's cry is fatal to anyone who hears it."

Professor Sprout beamed. "Excellent. Ten points to Gryffindor. As our Mandrakes are only seedlings, their cries won't kill you yet. However, they will knock you out for several hours. That is why I have provided each of you with a pair of earmuffs. If you would then..."

Earmuffs were passed down the line and Melanie was happy to get a pair of simple purple ones, unlike Ron, who was stuck with fluffy pink ones.

"Everyone got their earmuffs? Now…" Professor Sprout began. "Quiet easy. Just grasp the leaves tightly in one hand, and pull!"

She demonstrated, grabbing the leaves in the pot in front of her and pulling straight up. However to Melanie's (and most of the classes') shock, instead of normal plant roots, a small, ugly baby came out.

Down to her right, Neville fell to the floor.

Professor Sprout continued, and dropped the Mandrake into another pot, while the thing wailed and cried. She covered it with dirt and then removed her earmuffs.

"Hmm," she said. "Looks as though Mr. Longbottom neglected his muffs."

Seamus, who had been Neville's partner, shook his head. "No ma'am. He's just fainted."

"Very well. We'll just leave him then. Come now. Four to a tray, plenty of pots to go round..."

Melanie joined the others in re-potting the Mandrakes, occasionally throwing nervous glances at Neville, who had yet to wake up.

The same day at lunch, Melanie found herself being unusually quiet. Hermione's nose was buried in a book titled '_Gilderoy Lockhart's Travels with Trolls'_, Ron was attempting to repair his wand using Spell-o-tape (it had snapped right in half when they crashed into the Whomping Willow), and Harry was lost in his thoughts as usual.

"Say it," Ron said suddenly, holding up the lame attempt at fixing his wand. "I'm doomed."

"You're doomed," Harry said.

A blinding flash suddenly came from behind her and got both Harry and Ron in the face. Turning around she saw a first year standing behind her with a large camera and a smile on his face.

"Hiya, Harry," the first year said. "I'm Colin Creevey. I'm in Gryffindor too!"

"Hi, Colin," Harry said, his eyes still trying to adjust from the camera flash.

"They're for my dad… the pictures," Colin continued. "He's a milkman, you know, a Muggle, like all our family's been until me. No one knew all the odd stuff I could do was magic till we got my letter from Hogwarts. Everyone just thought I was mental."

"Imagine that," Ron muttered.

Melanie glare at him and mouthed the words 'Be nice'.

"Say, Harry," Colin said, completely oblivious to what Ron had said. "D'you think your friend could take a photo of me and you standing together? Ya' know, to prove I've met you?"

Harry cast a nervous glance at Ron, who looked positively homicidal. Luckily, the owls carrying the post swooped into the Great Hall, acting as an excuse for Harry not to have his picture taken. Colin, however, didn't leave.

No owls came for her, but Erol came flying down the table crashing right into Ron's soup.

"Bloody bird's a menace…," he said. "Oh, no…"

"Heads up, everyone. Weasley's gotten himself a Howler," Seamus warned, though he sounded slightly amused.

Melanie looked at the scarlet red letter in Ron's hand and wondered what on earth a Howler was.

"Go on, Ron," Neville said. "I ignored one from my Gran once... it was horrible."

She didn't understand why Ron was so pale, but she soon found out. He carefully began to open the letter, which sprung to life and folded into a mouth.

"RONALD WEASLEY!" the letter shouted in his face. The voice sounded exactly like Mrs. Weasley and Melanie suddenly knew why he had been so scared.

"HOW DARE YOU STEAL THAT CAR? I AM ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED! YOUR FATHER'S NOW FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, AND IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT! IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE, WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT HOME!"

The Howler calmed slightly and turned away from the mortified Ron, down the table where Ginny was sitting, writing in some black journal.

"Oh, and Ginny dear. Congratulations on making Gryffindor. Your father and I are so proud," the letter said.

Embarrassed, Ginny looked back down at her journal, avoiding the eyes that were suddenly on her.

The Howler turned back to Ron, only to stick its 'tongue' out at him, before tearing into a million tiny pieces. The other House tables roared with laughter and Colin took a few more pictures, this time of the absolutely crimson Ron.

Harry looked at him sympathetically. "Look at it this way. How much worse can things get?"

He shouldn't have said it, because things got _much_ worse.

Gilderoy Lockhart was a joke. But he definitely made for an interesting Defense Against the Dark Arts class. While the rest of the girls, Hermione included, hung on his every word, Melanie felt slightly left out and instead tried to guess what was inside the large covered cage on Lockhart's desk. Harry and Ron seemed to be interested in it too.

"Let me introduce you to your new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher," Lockhart began as he paced at the front of the classroom, which had changed dramatically. While last year there had been a number of necklaces of garlic, courtesy of 'frightened' Professor Quirrell, this year there were a number of self portraits hanging around the room, all smiling with brilliant white teeth.

Their new teacher was _so_ modest.

"Me," Lockhart said, answering his own question. "Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League and five times winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award… But I don't talk about that. I didn't get rid of the Bandon Banshee by smiling at her!"

Melanie assumed he expected everyone to laugh at his 'joke', but instead he laughed himself and only received a few meek smiles from the class.

"I see you've all bought a complete set of my books. Well done," he said. "I thought we'd start today with a little quiz. Nothing to worry about. Just to check how well

you've read them, how much you've taken in..."

Harry, who was sitting next to her, leaned over to whisper in her ear. "Did you read anything?"

Melanie shook her head.

The quiz itself was ridiculous. There was nothing about Defense Against the Dark Arts, instead it was a test on Gilderoy Lockhart himself. How was she supposed to know what his favourite colour was?

When Lockhart collected the tests, it seemed he was thoroughly disappointed.

"Hardly any of you remembered my favorite color is lilac," Lockhart tutted. "But Miss Hermione Granger knew that my secret ambition is to rid the world of evil and market my own range of hair care potions. Good girl."

Hermione smiled; a flush pink rose in her cheeks.

Melanie turned to Harry. "Oh, shoot! I forgot that his middle name was 'Arrogant'! Did you get that Harry?" she said sarcastically.

Harry snickered, as did Ron who was right behind her. Hermione however gave them a disapproving look.

Lockhart turned to the class, his expression suddenly darkening. "Now... be warned!" he started dramatically. "It is my job to arm you against the foulest creatures known to wizard kind! You may find yourself facing your own worst fears in this room. Know only that no harm can befall you whilst I am here..."

Melanie finally caught interest in the class. She knew he must have been about to reveal what was in the cage, which was still rattling loudly.

"I must ask you not to scream. It might provoke them!"

He whipped the cover off of the cage and revealed several blue fairy-like creatures, that shook the bars of the cage and pulled faces at the students. Expecting to be scared by some ferocious monster, Melanie was slightly disappointed by the little fairies.

"Cornish pixies?" Seamus said, laughing.

Lockhart beamed. "Freshly caught Cornish pixies!" he added enthusiastically.

Seamus continued to laugh, provoking snickering around the rest of the class. When the giggling didn't quickly die down, Lockhart said, "Laugh if you will, Mr. Finnegan, but pixies can be devilishly tricky little blighters. Let's see what you make of them!"

He flung the cage door open and the swarm of pixies escaped. Madness ensued. The pixies were ripping books apart, spraying students with ink, and breaking anything and everything. They were like miniature versions of Peeves! The snide little creatures even hoisted Neville by the ears and hung him from the chandelier!

Melanie swatted them away like pesky bugs, but they continued to pull on her hair and robes, shredding them in places. One even tried to rip her necklace from her, the one Mrs. Danielson had given her at the beginning of her first year, but that pixy was quickly put in its place.

"Come on now, round them up, round them up," Lockhart instructed the class, most of which were fleeing the room. "They're only pixies!"

He pulled out his wand and confidently raised it into the air. "Peskipiski Pesternomi!" he chanted. However, unsurprisingly to Melanie, the spell had no effect and one particularly devilish pixy grabbed his wand and tossed it out the window.

Lockhart joined the stampede of students trying to leave the classroom and before he left he turned back to Melanie and the others.

"I'll ask you four to just nip the rest of them back into their cage," he said, before leaving the class and slamming the door behind him.

Melanie couldn't believe him! He was the teacher and he just fled in fear!

"What do we do now?" Ron asked as he used a book to knock away a pixy that was pulling on Hermione's hair.

Hermione raised her wand into the air and shouted, "Immobilus!"

All the pixies froze in mid-air, slowly drifting around the class like meteors in orbit.

"Why is it always me?" Neville asked from above them.

Melanie and Harry helped Neville down from the chandelier while Hermione and Ron grabbed the pixies and stuffed them back into their cage. When they left the classroom, they were all tired and disheveled.

"Can you believe him?" Ron asked as they walked down the corridor.

"I'm sure Professor Lockhart just wanted to give us some hands-on experience," Hermione said.

Melanie looked at her as though she were nuts.

"Hands on?" Harry repeated. "Hermione, he didn't have a clue what he was doing!"

Entirely unconvinced Hermione said, "Rubbish. Read his books. You'll see all the amazing things he's done."

"He says he's done," Ron said glumly.

The rest of the day was perfectly normal and after their first class, Professor Lockhart chose to stick to teaching with books. The first week back at Hogwarts passed mostly without incident, and soon it was their first Saturday. Harry had Quidditch practice that day, Oliver Wood had wanted to start training for the season early, and so Melanie followed Hermione and Ron out into the courtyard. Hermione was of course set on studying, but Ron and Melanie could think of a million better things to do. For that reason, Ron brought his chess set outside (he had gotten a new portable one for his last birthday) and he and Melanie played while Hermione looked on disapprovingly. Ron, of course, won every match, even after Melanie asked him to go easy on her. She was about to take a break from losing when the Gryffindor Quidditch team entered the courtyard on their way to the pitch. Harry waved at them as he passed, but his happiness evaporated when they saw the Slytherin team enter the courtyard too.

"Uh, oh. I smell trouble," Ron said.

Hermione closed her book and Ron quickly packed away the chess set before they made their way over to the group, which were clearly not pleased with each other.

When they finally reached the group, Melanie heard Oliver Wood reading from a note that the Slytherin team's Captain, Marcus Flint, had given him.

"'I, Professor Severus Snape, do hereby give the Slytherin team permission to practice today, owing to the need to train their new seeker.' You've got a new Seeker? Who?" Wood asked.

Someone began pushing through from the back of the Slytherin crowd and Melanie was shocked when Malfoy stepped forward, a smirk on his face.

"Malfoy?" Harry asked in amazement.

"That's right," Malfoy said. "And that's not all that's new this year..."

The Slytherin team each held up seven brand-new brooms, gleaming black. The Gryffindor team looked at them stunned.

"Those are Nimbus Two Thousand Ones!" Ron exclaimed; he too was clearly astounded.

"A generous gift from Draco'sfather," Marcus Flint told them.

"That's right, Weasley," Malfoy said, his smirk growing wider. "You see,unlike some, my father can affordto buy the best."

It was then that Hermione spoke up. "At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way in. They got in on pure talent."

Malfoy glared at her, and a look of repulsion appearing on his face. "No one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood."

Everyone, save Melanie and apparently Harry, gasped as if Malfoy had just swore. Little did they know at the time that it was much worse. Fred and George Weasley made a move towards Malfoy, but regretfully Oliver held them back.

"Save it for the match," he told them.

Ron, however, had different ideas and whipped out his wand, which was taped around the middle.

"You'll pay for that one, Malfoy!" he said. Pointing his wand directly at Malfoy he shouted, "Eat slugs!"

Unfortunately for Ron, his broken wand backfired and instead of hitting Malfoy, the spell hit him. He fell back onto the grass, holding onto his stomach and looking sickly green. While Hermione and Harry ran to Ron's side, Melanie glared at Malfoy, who was laughing with sick enjoyment.

"Ron! Say something!" she heard Hermione say.

Ron opened his mouth and burped, however a slug fell out of his mouth. Melanie supposed when he said, 'Eat slugs,' he meant it literally.

While a fascinated, Colin Creevey ran up with his camera, Melanie turned on Malfoy.

"Ron's wand might be broken, but mine's not," Melanie said. Drawing her wand she pointed it at him and shouted, "_Wartolulis_!"

A purple blast erupted from her wand and Malfoy fell back into the crowd of Slytherins, who caught him before he hit the ground. At first it seemed that her spell had failed, but then tiny, angry warts began sprouting up all over him. He cried in shock and was carried away by the Slytherin team.

Fred and George Weasley patted her on the back and told her she did a job well done.

"What was that spell again?" Fred asked, appearing as though he were taking notes.

Before she could answer, Gilderoy Lockhart appeared in front of her. Though he didn't look angry at all, she knew that she was in trouble.

"As clever as that was, I have a duty as a teacher to uphold. You'll spend detention with Harry in my office."

Melanie supposed she should have felt some kind of remorse for what she had done, but she was actually proud of herself. Maybe Malfoy had learned to stay away from them now. She highly doubted it.

When she caught up to the others, who had gone to Hagrid's hut in hopes he could do something about Ron, she found that Ron was still being sick. Hagrid found him a bucket and they sat down while they prepared to wait it out. Melanie chose to stand, she was still a little worked up after the whole Malfoy incident.

"Better out than in," Hagrid said as he settled down in a chair. "Who was he tryin' ter curse anyway?"

"Malfoy," Harry answered. "He called Hermione… well, I don't know exactly what it means..."

Hermione looked down at her hands and she quietly said, "He called me a Mudblood."

Hagrid gasped the same way the rest of them had when Malfoy first said the word, but Melanie still didn't understand what it meant. "He didn'!" Hagrid said.

Harry, who was just as confused as Melanie was, looked at Hermione curiously and though it looked like she didn't want to, she took a deep breath and explained.

"It means dirty blood," Hermione told them. "Mudblood's a really foul name for someone who was Muggle-born. Someone with non-magic parents. Someone... like me. It's not a term one usually hears in civilized conversation."

Melanie was disgusted and suddenly wished she had done worse to Malfoy for what he said.

"Yeh see, Harry, Melanie. There are some wizards, like Malfoy's family, who think they're better than everyone else 'cause they're what people call _pureblood_."

"That's horrible," Harry commented.

Ron belched up another slug. "It's disgusting!" he said.

"An' it's codswallop ter boot," Hagrid said. "Dirty blood. There's 'ardly a wizard today that's not half-blood or less. If we 'adn't married Muggles we'd've died out long ago. Besides, they haven't invented a spell our Hermione can't do..."

Hermione smiled and Hagrid beckoned her closer. He took her shoulder encouragingly and said, "Don' you think on it, Hermione. Don' you think on it fer a minute."

"Besides, I doubt Malfoy will want to call you that again after what I did to him," Melanie said with a grin on her face. Then she turned to Harry. "Oh, that reminds me Harry. I have detention with you tonight."

Harry just smiled and Hermione thanked her.

Melanie was pleased that Malfoy disappeared for the rest of the day, and in a sick way she wished that he'd choose to never be seen again. She knew that the spell was only temporary and that the warts would eventually vanish completely, but she still hoped. However her delight ended quickly when she had to leave with Harry to go to their detention. Ron had detention too, but he was going to the trophy room to polish the awards for Filch and so he left when they reached a separate corridor.

When Harry and Melanie drew near Professor Lockhart's office, he suddenly turned to her.

"That was great what you did for Ron and Hermione," he said to her.

Melanie just shrugged modestly. "Malfoy deserved it," she said. "Besides you would have done the same."

Harry just smiled and they entered Lockhart's office, where he was waiting with an excited smile on his face.

Four hours later, Melanie was still putting autographed pictures of Lockhart into envelopes, and she was beginning to fall asleep. Strangely, she had wished that she could have swapped detentions with Ron. She would have preferred Filch looming over her shoulder while she scrubbed at plaques instead of having to look at Gilderoy Lockhart's picture a million times over while listening to him drone on and on.

"Harry, Harry, Harry...," Lockhart said. "Can you possibly imagine a better way to serve detention than by helping me answer my fan mail?"

Harry forced a smile.

"And you, Miss Danielson, do you have any idea how lucky you are? A hundred girls would love to be in your position."

Melanie didn't even attempt a smile.

Lockhart turned back to Harry, who he clearly preferred talking too. "Fame's a fickle friend, Harry. Celebrity is as celebrity does. Remember that," he said.

Harry just nodded and passed Melanie another addressed envelope. Groaning, Melanie took it from him and picked up another photograph when a chilling voice filled the room.

'_Come…come to me…' _

"What?"

Melanie looked up to see Harry looking at Lockhart curiously.

"I was saying," Lockhart continued casually, "six solid months at the top of the bestseller list! Broke all records!"

"No... not you, that... voice," Harry said.

Lockhart looked at him strangely. "Voice?"

"That... voice. Didn't you hear it?" Harry asked.

"What are you talking about, Harry? I think we're getting a bit drowsy. Great Scott and no wonder! Look at the time! We've been here nearly four hours! Dinner's nearly done! If you two hurry you might make pudding. Spooky how the time flies when one's having fun!"

"Spooky."

Harry heard the voice too? And Lockhart didn't? What did that mean?

Melanie for some reason chose to keep the fact that she heard the voice too to herself. They were walking down the corridor in silence and Melanie was thinking about the voice when she heard it again.

'_Blood…I smell blood…'_

Harry stopped in front of her and was looking around. He had heard it again! Where was the voice coming from? What was it talking about?

'_Let me rip you…let me kill you…'_

She thought the voice was coming from inside the walls, and Harry thought the same thing because soon he stepped up to it, his fingers running along the stone. He began to walk away and Melanie followed, her eyes scanning the wall as she did. The voice…it sounded like hissing… and it was moving farther away. Soon enough she and Harry had broken into a run.

They rounded the corner and ran right into Hermione and Ron, who looked relieved to see them.

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Did you hear it?" Harry asked suddenly.

"Hear what?" Ron asked.

"That…voice."

"Voice?" Hermione asked nervously. "What voice?"

"I heard it first in Lockhart's office and then again…" Harry said. He turned around to Melanie, as if just realizing she was there. "Didn't you hear it?" he asked.

Melanie didn't know what to say. "I…"

'_Kill…time to kill…'_

"It's moving," Harry said, forgetting Melanie's answer. "I think it's going to... kill."

Harry ran off and Hermione and Ron followed not knowing where they were going, and so did Melanie though she had a better idea. They ran along the corridors with Harry leading them and they just rounded a corner when suddenly (for Melanie) the hissing stopped. She stepped into a puddle of water and looked down, realizing that the entire hallway had been flooded.

"Harry, what are you doing?" Ron asked, panting.

Harry, who had arrived in the corridor before them, pointed at a wall. Melanie looked. Shimmering like red paint, there were words written along the wall.

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED

ENEMIES OF THE HEIR... BEWARE.

Hermione was the first to speak. "The Chamber of Secrets has been opened...?"

"What's that?" Ron asked. "Hanging underneath?"

Melanie slowly walked closer to the message and gasped when she saw what exactly was hanging underneath.

"That's Filch's cat. Mrs. Norris," Harry answered.

Hanging stiffly by her tail from a torch bracket, Mrs. Norris' eyes were open and blank. Melanie was terrified. Who would do such a thing?

"Look at that," Hermione said, drawing Melanie's attention away from the poor cat. Looking in the direction that Hermione was indicating, Melanie saw a formation of small black spiders, all crawling in a single file line out the window.

"Have you ever seen spiders act like that? Ron...?"

Ron was backing away from the window with a look of fear on his face. "I don't like... spiders," he stuttered.

Melanie might have laughed at the irrational fear, if she didn't hear voices of students drawing closer. Dinner must have been over and students were returning to their Common Rooms. But they would see the message and Mrs. Norris first. And they would see Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Melanie in the middle of it all. Sure enough, students rounded the corners in both directions and stopped at the sight before them. A drowning silence falls on the corridor. To her right, Melanie saw Malfoy push forward, read the message, and grin nastily.

"Enemies of the heir, beware! You'll be next, Mudbloods!" he exclaimed as his eyes found Hermione. Melanie glared at him when his eyes fell on her, his grin turning into a spiteful scowl.

Before anything happened, the situation got even worse when Filch suddenly appeared, ordering the students to keep moving.

"What's going on here?" he shouted as he pushed through the crowd. "Go on now! Make way..."

He stopped dead at the sight of his beloved pet, his face drained of colour and terror welling up in his eyes.

"Mrs. Norris!" he cried, before rounding on Harry. "You! You've murdered my cat! I'll kill you!"

"Harry didn't touch her!" Melanie said, defending Harry, who was too shocked to move.

Filch then turned to her. "So you did then! You killed her! I'll kill you! I'll…"

"Argus!"

Dumbledore appeared in the crowd followed by a fleet of teachers, who upon seeing the wall earned looks of horror and shock on their faces. Dumbledore's face darkened.

"Everyone will proceed to their dormitories immediately," he ordered. Even though his voice was calm, Melanie could tell there was a certain fear behind it.

He then pointed to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Melanie. "Everyone except you four," he said.

The corridor slowly emptied as students did what they were told, but no one left without casting a glance at them or whispering to their neighbor. When the hallway was finally empty, Dumbledore approached Mrs. Norris and gently took her from the wall, examining her closely.

"It was definitely a curse that killed her," Lockhart said, "probably the Transmogrifian Torture. Encountered it myself once, in Ouagadougou. The full story's in my autobiography..."

"She's not dead, Argus," Dumbledore stated, completely disregarding Lockhart's theory. "She's been Petrified."

"Precisely! So unlucky I wasn't there. I know the very counter-curse that could have spared her...," Lockhart rambled. From the looks on their faces, Melanie could tell that not even the other teachers believed a word he was saying.

Dumbledore sighed. "But how she's been Petrified... Icannot say," he said.

Obviously completely convinced, Filch pointed at Harry. "Ask him! It's him that's done it. You saw what he wrote on the wall!"

"If I might, Headmaster...," Snape began. Melanie sighed. This couldn't possibly be good.

"Perhaps Potter and his friends were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time..."

Melanie gaped. Was Snape defending them? It wasn't possible! Out of all the students he must have hated them the most. Now he was defending them?

"However, the circumstances are suspicious," he said.

Melanie knew it was too good to be true.

"I, for one, don't recall seeing Potter at dinner."

"I'm afraid that's my doing, Severus," Lockhart said. "You see, both Harry and Miss Danielson were helping me answer my fan mail..."

Snape's lip curled in obvious disgust.

Hermione turned to him. "That's why Ron and I went looking for them, Professor. We'd just found them when Harry said..."

Snape raised an eyebrow when Hermione suddenly stopped. "Yes, Miss Granger?" he pushed.

"When I said I wasn't hungry," Harry answered for her. "We were heading back to the Common Room when we found Mrs. Norris."

Snape looked at Harry coldly, as if he knew he was lying. Melanie hoped he wouldn't express his suspicions. They looked at Dumbledore for his decision.

He studied Harry carefully before he said, "Innocent until proven guilty."

"My cat has been Petrified!" Filch growled. "I want to see some punishment!"

"We will be able to cure her, Argus," Dumbledore assured him. "As I understand it, Madam Sprout has a very healthy growth of Mandrakes. When they have matured, a potion will be made which will revive Mrs. Norris.

"In the meantime," he looked pointedly at Melanie and the others. "I advise caution. To all."

Melanie followed the others towards the Common Room, not listening to the conversation in the least bit. The Chamber of Secrets…what was it? And who petrified Mrs. Norris? These questions ran through her head a few times before the final and most important entered her head. Why did she hear the voice?

"Harry."

Hermione's voice interrupted her thoughts and Melanie finally realized that they were on the moving staircases. "This voice," Hermione continued. "You said you heard it first in Lockhart's office?"

"Yes," Harry answered shortly.

"And did he hear it?"

Harry thought for a minute. "He said he didn't."

"Maybe he was lying," Ron suggested.

Hermione huffed at him. "I hardly think someone with Gilderoy Lockhart's credentials would lie to one of his students, Ronald," she said, causing Melanie to roll her eyes. "Besides, if you recall, we didn't hear anything either."

"You do believe me, don't you?" Harry asked, interrupting the likely argument to come.

"Course we do," Hermione answered. "It's just... it's a bit weird, isn't it? You hear this voice and then... Mrs. Norris turns up Petrified."

"D'you think I should've told them…Dumbledore and the others, I mean."

"Are you mad!" Ron exclaimed.

"No, Harry," Hermione said more civilly. "Even in the wizarding world, hearing voices isn't a good sign."

Harry remained quiet for the rest of the night and even the next morning. Melanie did the same. She hadn't told anyone that she heard the voice too; she didn't want to be anymore involved in this than she already was. Meanwhile, the school was buzzing with rumors, mostly about how Harry had killed Mrs. Norris. Melanie and the others did their best to ignore these, but Melanie couldn't help listening to the talk about the Chamber of Secrets. But it seemed that no one knew for sure what it was, just illogical guesses.

It was during Transfiguration that they finally got their answer. Melanie was sitting next to Hermione, who was having a hard time concentrating, something that had never been seen before. At the front of the class, McGonagall was standing next to a table where a bird was perched. A different animal was on each student's desk, but Melanie held no interest on the pigeon on hers.

"Today, we will be turning animals into water goblets," Professor McGonagall instructed. She turned to the bird beside her and tapped it three times with her wand. Silently, the bird transformed into a shimmering crystal water goblet.

"Now," she continued. "Who would like to go first...Mr. Weasley?"

To her left, sitting next to Harry, Ron nodded nervously. He took his wand and tapped Scabbers three times. The rat turned into a furry goblet with a tail.

"You must replace that wand, Mr. Weasley," Professor McGonagall told him.

Ron looked at his broken wand and nodded sheepishly.

Melanie watched Hermione raise her hand, without having touched the frog on her desk.

Professor McGonagall saw Hermione's raised hand and asked, "Yes, Miss Granger?"

Hermione cleared her throat and bravely asked what every student had wanted to ask. "Professor, I was wondering if you could tell us about the Chamber of Secrets?"

A hush fell over the class as everyone waited for the answer anxiously.

McGonagall avoided the issue. "My subject is Transfiguration, Miss Granger," she said.

"Yes, Professor," Hermione said. "But there seems to be very little written about the Chamber of Secrets. For those of us with a personal interest in the subject, that is...disturbing."

Professor McGonagall considered Hermione's question for a long moment, and then, to the gratitude of the class, nodded.

"Very well. You all know, of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age," she began. "Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. Three of the founders co-existed quite harmoniously. One did not."

"Three glasses who?" Ron muttered.

"Salazar Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts," McGonagall continued. "He believed that magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. In other words, purebloods."

Melanie looked across the class to where Malfoy could be seen smirking at his two goons, Crabbe and Goyle.

"Unable to sway the others, he decided to leave the school. According to legend, Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in this castle, known as the Chamber of Secrets. Shortly before departing, he sealed it until that time when his own true heir returned to the school. The heir alone would be able to open the Chamber of Secrets and unleash the horror within, and by so doing, purge the school of all those who, in Slytherin's view, were unworthy to study magic."

"Muggleborns," Hermione added.

Professor McGonagall nodded. "Yes. Naturally, the school has been searched many times for such a chamber. It has never been found," she told them.

"Professor, what exactly does legend tell us lies within the Chamber?" Hermione asked.

McGonagall shuddered slightly. "The Chamber is said to be home to something which the heir of Slytherin alone can control. It is said to be home... to a monster."

They were making their way through the packed corridor after class when Ron asked, "Do you think it's true? Do you think there really is a Chamber of Secrets?"

"Yes," Hermione answered surely. "Couldn't you tell? McGonagall's worried. All the teachers are."

"But if there really is a Chamber of Secrets," Harry said, "and it's really been opened, that means…"

"The Heir of Slytherin had returned to Hogwarts," Melanie finished for him. "The question is, who is it?"

"Let's think," Ron said, sarcasm lacing his tone. "Who do we know who thinks Muggleborns are scum?"

Hermione, who was eyeing Malfoy's figure ahead of them, spitefully said, "If you're talking about Malfoy…"

"Of course! You heard him! 'You'll be next, Mudbloods!'," Ron said.

"I heard him," Hermione said. "But Malfoy? The Heir of Slytherin?"

"Maybe Ron's right, Hermione," Harry said. "I mean, look at his family. The whole lot of them have been in Slytherin for centuries!"

"Crabbe and Goyle must know," Ron said. "Maybe we could trick them into telling…"

"No," said Hermione, "even they aren't that thick. But there might be another way. Mind you, it would be difficult. Not to mention we'd be breaking about fifty school rules. And it would be dangerous. Very dangerous."

"Are you talking about what I think you're talking about?" Melanie asked.

Hermione just nodded.

Ron beamed. "When do we start?"


	7. Snakes and Illegally Brewed Potions

**AN: **New Chapter! First of all, thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! The support has been amazing! Second, I really hope you guys enjoy this one!

**Read & Review! **

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or anything related to him. They are the sole property of J. K. Rowling. However Melanie and the characters from the orphanage are mine.

**Chapter 7: Snakes and Illegally Brewed Potions**

The Polyjuice Potion was just as complicated as Hermione said it would be. But it would turn them into anyone they wanted, and for Harry and Ron that meant they could be Crabbe and Goyle. Malfoy would tell them anything! The ingredients were some that Melanie had never used before, plus the fact that it would take a month to brew properly, but it was the best idea they had.

So everyday Melanie and Hermione gathered the ingredients while the boys figured out a way to get a bit of whoever they were going to change into. Hermione had decided to change into Millicent Bulstrode and Melanie was going to turn into Pansy Parkinson. As terrible as that sounded, they were the two girls who could be near Malfoy without him becoming suspicious.

Along with the brewing of the potion and the rumors still flying around Hogwarts, the end of November gave Harry the first Quidditch game of the season to worry about. Gryffindor was playing Slytherin, a rivalry match, and Oliver Wood was making victory the most important thing in the players' lives.

So naturally, the day of the match Harry was a ball of nerves. Like every morning before a match, he didn't eat anything and he was nervous the entire way down to the pitch. Melanie, Hermione, and Ron found a place in the stands next to Hagrid and soon enough the game began.

Harry was circling the pitch as he looked for the Golden Snitch and it was then that Melanie saw Malfoy, all high and mighty on his new broom, fly up beside him. She couldn't hear what they were saying over the screaming of the crowd, but she shouted out when a Bludger came zooming up behind Harry. He rolled on his broom at the last second, narrowly missing the Bludger, and George batted it away.

But to their shocked amazement, the Bludger turned right around and went after Harry again, who fly away in the opposite direction.

"Blimey," Hagrid said. "Harry's got 'imself a Rogue Bludger!"

"Rogue Bludger?" Ron asked.

"Look fer yerself! It's bin' tampered with, tha' has!" Hagrid said passing Ron his pair of huge binoculars.

Melanie watched as Harry weaved and rolled trying to shake off the Bludger, but no matter what he did it followed. Ron made to draw his wand, but Hermione put out a hand to stop him.

"You're joking right?" she asked. "Even with a proper wand, it's too risky. You could hit Harry."

Melanie watched hopelessly as the Bludger followed Harry, but suddenly he caught sight of something behind Malfoy, who had been taunting him. Harry flew after the Golden Snitch with Malfoy right next to him, and the Bludger not far behind. They disappeared from her sight; actually flying underneath the pitch! They waited and the knot in Melanie's stomach grew tighter and tighter as time passed. Suddenly Malfoy fly out from under the pitch, broomless, and landed on the pitch flat on his back.

Harry flew out soon after, his fingertips inches from the snitch and the Bludger still close on his heels. He was so close! Just a little further!

The Bludger zoomed around and smashed into Harry's outstretched arm, sending him off balance and swerving. Melanie's hands flew to her mouth in shock and she wondered how it was possible that he kept going. Sure enough, with his broken arm tucked into his chest, Harry raced after the snitch. With a brilliant move, he snatched it from the air with his good arm, but lost control and hit the ground with a sickening thud.

"C'mon!" Melanie shouted at the others and they left the stands to race down to the pitch.

The Bludger was still after Harry, it shot right down at him and only because of Harry's rolling around did it miss him. It was about to come down on him again, but Hermione raised her wand at the Bludger.

"_Finite Incantatem_!" she cried.

The Bludger exploded in mid-plumet and Harry let out a relieved sigh, before the pain in his arm became the main focus of his attention. Melanie ran over to him and knelt at his side, her face full of concern.

"Harry, are you okay?" she asked.

"I think it's broken," he replied, wincing as the pain shot repeatedly through his arm.

Melanie gingerly touched his arm and he screamed in pain. She shushed him and told him that they would get Madam Pomfrey, just when Lockhart appeared on Harry's other side.

"Not to worry, Harry," he said, pushing back his sleeves. "I'll fix that arm of yours straight away."

"No…no…not you," Harry said, his voice sounding pleading.

"Professor," Melanie said. "Maybe we should wait for Madam Pomfrey?"

"No, no. Poor boy doesn't know what he's saying. This won't hurt a bit…"

Having no other choice, Melanie watched as Lockhart pointed his wand at Harry's arm.

"_Brakium Umendum_."

Lockhart went to check Harry's arm, and to Melanie and the others' horror, his arm flopped around like rubber.

"Ah, yes," Lockhart said. "Well, that can sometimes happen. The point is," he bent Harry's arm all the way back, "clearly, the bones are no longer broken."

"Broken?" Hagrid said irritably. "He doesn't 'ave any bones at all!"

Harry was brought to the Hospital Wing, sometime after Professor Lockhart disappeared from an irate Madam Pomfrey. Irate was an understatement.

"He should have been brought straight to me!" Madam Pomfrey berated. "I can mend bones in a heartbeat, but growing them back…"

"You will be able to, won't you?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, I'll be able to, certainly, but it will be painful. You're in for a rough night, Potter. Re-growing bones is a nasty business," she told him as she handed him a steaming cup of Skele-Gro.

Harry drank it and grimiced. Melanie could only wonder at how awful a bone-growing potion must taste. She could barely handle Muggle cough syrup.

"Well, what did you expect… pumpkin juice?" Madam Pomfrey said.

The group of Gryffindor well-wishers around his bed chuckled. Colin Creevey

happened to be one of the visitors and he of course brought his camera.

"That was brilliant today, Harry! Brilliant!" he said as he took a picture.

Madam Pomfrey wasn't too fond of this and so she began to dismiss them. "Out! All of you! This boy's got thirty-three bones to re-grow!"

Harry groaned and Melanie smiled at him. "Good luck, Harry," she joked.

He just glared at her playfully before she left with Ron and Hermione.

Melanie met Harry the day he was released from the Hospital Wing. She was alone because Hermione and Ron were already starting to make the Polyjuice Potion and Melanie was supposed to bring Harry there. He, however, created a distraction for her when he came out.

"Mel, I have to tell you something," were the first words out of his mouth.

She looked at him inquiringly. "What is it?"

"I saw Dobby last night," he told her.

"Wait, Dobby? The elf that was at your Uncle's house over the summer?" Melanie asked. Harry had told them about the house elf, Dobby, who actually belonged to the Malfoy family. Dobby had tried to stop Harry from returning to Hogwarts that year, even going to the extent of taking all of Harry's letters from his friends to make him think they'd forgotten him. When Melanie had first asked Harry why Dobby would do that, Harry told her that the elf said it was dangerous for him.

"Yes," Harry said. "He was in the Hospital Wing with me. It turns out he made Ron and I miss the train. He stopped us from getting through the barrier. And the Bludger! He made it come after me!" 

"Harry that Bludger could have killed you," Melanie said. "As determined as Dobby seems, I don't think he would go that far."

"He did, but he said he didn't want to kill me. He said that I can't stay here. He said that history was going to repeat itself," Harry told her.

"Repeat itself?"

"These attacks… they've happened before, Melanie. Long ago."

Melanie sighed. "We can't be sure Harry. I mean there's only been one attack. Mrs. Norris…why are you shaking your head?"

All the time she was saying this Harry had been shaking his head at her.

"There was another attack," he told her. "Last night."

Melanie gasped. "Who?"

"Colin Creevey."

"Colin!" Melanie exclaimed.

"The school's not safe anymore. Dumbledore said so himself. We have to figure out who the Heir of Slytherin is and stop them before someone dies."

After this new information, Melanie took Harry up to the unused girls' bathroom, where Hermione and Ron were waiting. Harry told them all that he had told Melanie, while they began working on the potion.

"Again?" Hermione asked as she added a few ingredients to the bubbling cauldron. "You mean the Chamber of Secrets has been opened before?"

"Of course!" Ron exclaimed. "Don't you see? Lucius Malfoy must've opened it when he was at school here, and now he's told Draco how to do it."

"Maybe," said Hermione. "We'll have to wait for the Polyjuice Potion to know for sure."

"Enlighten me. Why are we brewing this potion in broad daylight, in the middle of a girls' lavatory? Don't you think we'll get caught?" Ron asked.

"Never," Melanie answered. "No one ever comes in here."

"Why?" Ron asked.

"Moaning Myrtle," Hermione told him.

Ron gave her a weird look. "Who's Moaning Myrtle?"

A loud wail echoed throughout the bathroom and the ghost of a young girl appeared behind him.

"I'm Moaning Myrtle," she cried, her voice sounding depressingly sad. "I wouldn't expect you to know me. Who would ever talk about fat, ugly, miserable, moping, moaning Myrtle?"

Myrtle began sobbing and screeched loudly before diving headfirst into a toilet.

"She's a little sensitive," Hermione said.

They continued brewing the potion through the beginning of December and only a few weeks in, a notice appeared on the Gryffindor Common Room Notice Board:

DUELING CLUB! First Meeting Tonight.

Melanie and the others decided to go, even if Lockhart was heading it, because they figured they would need all the practice they could get while the Slytherin Heir was on the lose. So that day after classes they made their way to the Great Hall, which had been transformed into a wide space with a long golden stage in the center.

Before long the meeting began, and Melanie watched as Professor Lockhart stepped onto the stage and threw his cloak into the crowd. Several older girls caught it and began giggling and whispering to each other dreamily.

"Gather round! Gather round! Can everyone see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent!" Lockhart began. "In light of the dark events of recent weeks, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little Dueling Club, to train you all up in case you ever need to defend yourselves as I myself have done on countless occasions…for full details, see my published works."

Melanie rolled her eyes.

"Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape. He has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration. Now I don't want any of you youngsters to worry. You'll still have your Potions Master when I'm through with him, never fear!"

"What's the fun in that?" Ron said.

Snape stepped up onto the stage, his black cloak billowing around him, but did not make any move to teach or instruct. Both teachers faced each other, turned and walked ten paces, then turned back to face each other, wands poised in the air.

"As you can see," Lockhart said, "we are holding our wands in the accepted combative position. On the count of three, we will cast our first spells. Neither of us will be aiming to kill, of course."

As he eyed Snape warily, Harry said, "I wouldn't bet on that."

With that Lockhart began his counting. "One…two…three…"

"_Expelliarmus_!" Snape cried.

A scarlet light burst from Snape's wand and knocked Lockhart right off his feet.

"Do you think he's all right?" Hermione asked worriedly.

Simultaneously, Melanie, Harry, and Ron said, "Who cares?"

Lockhart did get up, though unsteadily. "An excellent idea to show them that, Professor Snape, but if you don't mind me saying so, it was very obvious what you were about to do. If I had wanted to stop you, it would have been only too easy…"

"Perhaps it would be prudent to first teach the students to block unfriendly spells, Professor," Snape sneered.

"An excellent suggestion, Professor Snape," Lockhart said. "Let's have a volunteer pair. Potter, Weasley, how about you?"

"Weasley's wand causes devastation with the simplest spells. We'll be sending Potter to the Hospital Wing in a matchbox," Snape said.

Ron frowned, but he had to admit that it was a little bit true.

"Might I suggest someone from my own house," Snape continued. "Malfoy perhaps?"

Melanie sighed. This would be bad.

Harry and Malfoy climbed onto the stage at either end and eyed each other malevolently as they took their places.

"This is not going to be good," Melanie said to Ron and Hermione, who both nodded in agreement.

Unwillingly, Harry and Malfoy bowed to each other.

"Scared Potter?" Melanie heard Malfoy ask Harry.

"You wish."

Melanie knew Harry had a fighting spirit and that he'd come out okay, but she was still worried. Malfoy was an evil twit, who knew what he was capable of?

They turned away from each other and walked ten paces. Again they turned, their wands at the ready.

"When I count to three, cast you charms to disarm your opponent, only to disarm!" Lockhart instructed as he left the stage. "We don't want any accidents! One…two…"

Malfoy fired early and knocked Harry backwards. Melanie was about to shout out about the unfairness, but Harry was up and had his wand pointed at Malfoy in a matter of seconds.

"_Rictusempra_!" Harry yelled.

Malfoy was hit in the stomach and flew into the air, landing hard. He got up slowly and turned to Harry, while Lockhart shouted, "I said disarm only!"

"_Serpensortia_!" Malfoy cried.

To Melanie's horror, after the tip of Malfoy's wand exploded, a long black snake slithered from it. The venomous looking snake hissed and began to slide forward.

Snape, who had looked amused up until this point, stepped forward. "Don't move, Potter. I'll get rid of it for you."

"Allow me!" Lockhart interrupted, flicking his wand at the snake. However instead of making the snake disappear, he made it fly up into the air and land back down, angering it further. It hissed and turned on a boy close to Melanie, who she knew to be Justin Finch-Fletchley.

Students began to back away from the snake, but Justin seemed scared to the spot. Melanie waited for Snape to do something, but instead Harry stepped towards the snake calmly, just as the snake rose up to strike Justin.

'_Leave him!' _

It sounded like the voice from before, but Melanie was sure it had come from Harry. The snake paused and turned to look at Harry, who was staring at it in a trance-like state.

The snake turned back to Justin and bared its fangs, but Harry yelled again.

'_LEAVE HIM!'_

To everyone's amazement, the snake slumped to the floor. Harry blinked a couple times, as if he were just waking up from sleeping. He turned to Justin, who looked at him with terrified eyes.

"What are you playing at?" Justin asked, as he backed away from Harry.

It seemed that Harry had no idea what he had done, or what he was being accused of, and neither did Melanie. But everyone else in the room looked either shocked or terrified. Snape finally made the snake vanish, and looked at Harry with a thoughtful and shrewd gaze.

Without realizing it, Melanie had been pushed by Ron and Hermione towards the door. Ron grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him along as well and they left the Great Hall as quickly as they could.

They did not stop for anything or speak until they reached the Common Room, which was strangely deserted. Ron and Hermione ushered Harry inside, while Melanie followed at a distance.

"You're a Parselmouth! Why didn't you tell us?" Ron asked in amazement.

"I'm a what?"

"You can talk to snakes," Hermione said.

Casually, Harry said, "I know. I mean, I accidentally set a python on my cousin Dudley at the zoo once. But so what? I bet loads of people here can do it."

"No. They can't," Hermione told him. "It's not a very common gift, Harry. This is bad."

"Why's it bad? He was trying to stop the snake from attacking Justin," Melanie said.

Suddenly their eyes were on her.

"Wait… you could hear him?" Hermione asked.

Melanie nodded. "I could hear that voice too, the one you heard before. I just didn't say anything. I was scared."

"Melanie, you're one too! You're a Parselmouth!" Ron exclaimed.

"This really isn't good," Hermione said, beginning to panic.

Harry let out a frustrated sigh. "I don't understand what's so bad! If I hadn't told that snake not to attack Justin…"

"Oh, that's what you said to it," Ron said.

"You were there! You heard me!"

"I heard you speaking Parseltongue. Snake language," Ron told him.

Harry gaped. "I spoke a different language? But I didn't realize… how can I speak a language without knowing I can?"

"I don't know Harry," Hermione said. "But it sounded like you were egging the snake on or something. It was…creepy.

"Harry, listen to me. There's a reason the symbol of Slytherin house is a serpent. Salazar Slytherin was a Parselmouth. He could talk to snakes too."

"Exactly," Ron said. "And now the whole school's going to think you're his great-great-great grandson or something."

"But I'm not," Harry protested. "I…can't be."

"He lived a thousand years ago," Hermione said. "For all we know… you could be."

"Hermione, you're forgetting that I'm a Parselmouth, too," Melanie said. "If Harry has even the slightest chance of being the Heir, which I highly doubt, then I am definitely eligible. Not trying to add to my bad luck or anything, but I have no clue what my past is. For all we know…I could be related to…Voldemort!"

"That's not funny, Melanie," Harry said.

"Look Harry, don't worry about it. We all know you're not the Heir of Slytherin. We don't know why either of us can speak Parseltongue, but it doesn't matter. We're Gryffindors," Melanie told him.

Harry forced a smile, still looking doubtful.

Snow fell around Hogwarts as December continued, but Melanie didn't find the joy in it as she usually would. She could tell that Harry was constantly thinking about the fact that the school suspected him of being the Heir of Slytherin, and it bugged her. She had told him it was impossible! Even if by some chance he was Slytherin's Heir, he would never have the heart to attack people.

Harry finally snapped one day in the library. The four of them were studying and Melanie saw Harry look up at Ron. Ron smiled, and then Hermione, but even to her both seemed forced. Other people around them were whispering and looking at him, and it was too much for Harry to handle. He grabbed his books and left the table, heading out of the library.

Melanie looked at Ron and Hermione before chasing after him, not caring that other students watched as she left. She caught up with Harry in the hall, where he had stopped. She slowly approached him and heard voices coming from an empty classroom, and Melanie realized that he was listening.

"So, anyway, I told Justin to hide up in our dormitory. I mean to say, if Potter's marked him down as his next victim, it's best he keep a low profile for a while," said a voice. Melanie frowned as she recognized Ernie, a Hufflepuff boy she got on generally fine with. Up until now.

"But why would he want to attack Justin?" asked another voice. Melanie was disappointed again to hear Hannah's voice, a sweet girl in Hufflepuff as well.

"Justin let it slip to Potter that he was Muggle-born," Ernie said.

"And you definitely think Potter's the Heir of Slytherin?" Hannah asked uncertainly.

"Hannah, he's a Parselmouth," Ernie said. "Everyone knows that's the mark of a dark wizard. Have you ever heard of a decent one who could talk to snakes? They called Slytherin himself Serpent-tongue."

Then his whisper became dark. "Remember what was written on the wall: Enemies of the Heir Beware. Potter had some sort of run-in with Filch. Next thing we know, Filch's cat's attacked. That first-year Creevey's been annoying Potter. Then Creevey's attacked."

"He always seems so nice, though," Hannah said. "And, after all, he is the one who made You-Know-Who disappear."

Ernie sighed. "That's probably why You-Know-Who wanted to kill him in the first place. Didn't want another Dark Lord competing with him."

Not being able to bare anymore, Harry stormed off again, Melanie following close behind. She quickly realized that they were headed towards Hagrid's hut and she tried to catch up with Harry.

"Harry! Hold on! Harry, wait!"

"Go away, Mel! Go back to the rest of them!" he shouted back.

"Harry, stop!" Melanie cried. She finally reached him and attempted to stop him, but in his anger he only pushed her away.

"Harry, stop acting like a child! I believe you so stop trying to walk away from me!"

Harry finally stopped and looked at her. "You don't understand. All the staring and the whispering. You don't know how hard it is," he told her.

"They only believe that you're the Heir because they can't think of anything better! If something else strange popped up that pointed at someone else, they'd leave you alone," Melanie said.

"Well, too bad that won't happen," Harry replied grumpily.

Melanie sighed. "Look, Harry. They may not believe you, but I do. I know you're not the Heir. And as long as I'm here I won't let them overpower you. Okay?"

Harry nodded just as Hagrid walked up to them, a dead rooster dangling in his hand.

"All righ', Harry? Melanie?" he asked.

"Hagrid... what're you doing?" Harry asked.

Hagrid held up the rooster in his hand, not realizing how close it was dangling to their faces. "Second one killed this term," he told them. "Reckon it's either foxes or a Blood-Suckin' Bugbear. Need Dumbledore's permission ter put a charm round the hen-coop. Yeh sure yeh're all righ', Harry? Yeh look all hot an' bothered."

"It's nothing," Harry told him. "We'd better get going. We've got a lot of studying..."

Hagrid nodded and left them, while Melanie and Harry made their way back to the school. It was dark inside the castle now, the only light coming from the lighted torches, and it was completely deserted.

"We better hurry or we'll be caught after hours," Melanie said while quickening her pace.

They rounded the corridor and they both saw something dark lying in the corridor. The light flickered and went out, casting them both into darkness. With Harry leading, they stepped towards the dark shape and what Melanie found nearly made her scream.

"Oh, God!"

Justin Finch-Fletchley was lying rigid on the floor with a look of shock and fear on his face. A few feet away, Nearly Headless Nick was floating; he had been petrified too. Harry knelt down next to Justin's body.

"Look," he said.

Melanie walked closer to him and peered down at what Harry was pointing at. A trail of spiders was scuttling away from Justin's body and out the loose windowpane.

"More spiders…," she whispered.

Footsteps were heard behind them and Melanie turned to find Professor McGonagall looking at them both with a shocked expression.

"Professor, I swear I didn't…," Harry said.

"This is out of my hands, Potter," McGonagall said. "Mr. Filch, will you take care of this, please?"

Filch appeared out of the shadows and walked over to Harry.

"Caught in the act. I'll have you out this time, Potter. Mark my words..."

"Follow me, Potter," McGonagall said firmly. "You too, Danielson."

Melanie and Harry had no choice but to follow her and in silence they found themselves being led towards Dumbledore's office. Professor McGonagall marched them down a corridor to a tall stone gargoyle.

"Sherbet lemon," Professor McGonagall said.

To Melanie's astonishment the gargoyle sprung to life, its wings opening up wide.

Professor McGonagall turned to them. "Professor Dumbledore will be waiting for you," she said.

Both Melanie and Harry nodded and McGonagall ushered them inside onto the gargoyle, which was like a Muggle elevator. The gargoyle's wings closed and Melanie and Harry rose up to a higher floor.

When they stepped out of the stairway, they came upon a large, circular room. Melanie did not see Dumbledore anywhere, so she felt safe in looking around. There were many strange objects in his office, many which she did not recognize as anything. One thing she did recognize, as well as Harry, was the Sorting Hat, which was sitting on a nearby shelf. Melanie watched carefully as Harry approached the Hat and as he did, the Hat 'looked' down at him.

"Bee in your bonnet, Potter?" the Hat asked.

"Well, you see, I was wondering..."

"If I put you in the right house?" the Hat finished for him. "Yes... you were particularly difficult to place. But I stand by what I said last year... you would have done well in Slytherin."

Harry shook his head. "You're wrong."

The hat said no more, and before further inquiries were made, Melanie and Harry heard a gagging sound in the office. She looked back and saw a dazzling gold and red bird, sitting atop a golden perch. The beautiful bird, however, did not look healthy at all, and before Melanie or Harry could do anything to stop it, the bird wobbled and burst into flame.

Melanie was horror-stricken! Dumbledore's bird…it just…blew up!

The door opened behind them and both Melanie and Harry spun around to see Dumbledore himself enter the office. They both looked from him to the ash-filled perch and back again.

"Professor," Harry said, "your bird… we couldn't do anything… he just caught fire."

"About time too," Dumbledore said casually as he walked over to them. "He's been looking dreadful for days."

Melanie looked at him in amazement. His bird just died and he wasn't the least bit saddened. What was wrong with the world?

"Pity you had to see him on his Burning Day. He's really very handsome most of the time," Dumbledore said as he stood beside the golden perch.

He must have seen Melanie and Harry's bewildered looks because he smiled slightly. "Fawkes is a phoenix. Phoenixes burst into flame when it is time for them to die and are reborn from the ashes," he told them.

As if upon his words, the ashes began to swirl and climb like smoke. A smaller version of Fawkes emerged from the flames, reborn just as Dumbledore had said.

"Fascinating creatures phoenixes," Dumbledore said as he stroked the frail birds head. "They can carry immensely heavy loads, their tears have healing powers, and they make highly faithful pets."

He was suddenly interrupted when the office door flew open and Hagrid forced himself into the office, still carrying the dead rooster in his hand.

"It wasn't Harry, Professor Dumbledore!" he exclaimed, seemingly out of breath.

"Hagrid…"

"I was talkin' ter them both jus' before that kid was found. It can't've been bin them!" Hagrid continued.

"Hagrid…"

"I'll swear ter it in front o' the Ministry o' Magic!"

"Hagrid!" Dumbledore exclaimed. "I do not think that Harry, or Melanie for that matter, attacked anyone."

A blush grew in Hagrid's cheeks after realizing how rash he had been. "Oh. Right. I'll… I'll wait outside then," he said.

Hagrid left the office and Melanie smiled at Dumbledore.

"You do think it was me, Professor?" Harry asked hopefully.

"No Harry," he answered with a smile of his own. "But I must ask you… is there anything you'd like to tell me? Anything at all?"

Melanie wondered if Dumbledore already knew that Harry was a Parselmouth. Did he already know that she was one too?

She looked over at Harry, who was clearly thinking the same thing, and wondering if he should tell Dumbledore. In the end, he decided not too.

"No, Professor. Nothing," he said.

Dumbledore watched him for a moment before turning to Melanie. "What about you, Melanie? Anything you would like to tell me?"

Melanie shook her head.

Dumbledore dismissed them, though Melanie was almost positive that he was curious of them still. They were Parselmouths, but they weren't evil. Even Dumbledore knew that. Otherwise she was sure he could have forced an answer out of them.

"It was right, not telling him. Wasn't it?" Harry asked her as they made their way back to the Gryffindor Common Room.

"I don't know Harry. But I do know that things are about to get much more complicated."

Melanie was right, the next day brought on more whispers and rumors from other students. But they weren't just for Harry anymore.

"She was with him. I think they did it together."

"Maybe she's the real Heir."

"Didn't you hear? Potter told her to do it. They're in it together."

The staring was unbearable! Melanie was making her way back from the library and it seemed that the entire attention of the school was focused on her. Wherever she went, people were staring and whispering, and she wasn't enjoying it one bit. She suddenly realized why Harry was so annoyed all the time.

She was planning to just go back to her dorm room and hide for the rest of the year when a loud voice caught her attention.

"Make way for the Heir of Slytherin! Seriously evil wizard coming through!"

Melanie looked ahead of her to where Fred and George where pushing a path through the crowd, so that Harry could get through. She was sure they were having a laugh, but Harry looked anything but amused.

She walked towards them, and the twins suddenly stopped, mock fear in their faces.

Both bowed deeply and said, "All hail her evilness!"

"Stop," Melanie ordered, though she didn't mean it to sound that way.

Fred and George saluted her before going back to clearing a path for Harry.

"Is that really necessary?" she shouted after them.

"Oh, c'mon Melanie," Ron said. "They're just having a laugh."

"They're the only ones," Harry said.

"Okay, so half the school thinks you're nipping off to the Chamber of Secrets every night," Ron said to him. "And the other half thinks you're second-in-command," he added to Melanie. "Who cares?"

"Maybe they're right," Harry said.

"Harry!" Hermione scolded reproachfully.

Harry turned on her, frustrated. "I didn't know I could speak Parseltongue. What else don't I know about myself? Maybe you can do something… even something horrible… and not know you did it."

Hermione looked at him sympathetically. "You don't believe that Harry. I know you don't. And if it makes you feel better, I just heard that Malfoy's over the holidays too," she said.

"Why would that make anyone feel better?" Ron asked, clearly not understanding her.

"Because, in a few days, the Polyjuice Potion will be ready. In a few days… we may truly know who the Heir of Slytherin is."

Melanie turned to Harry, who still looked glum. "Look on the bright side," she said causing him to look up. "At least now you're not alone."

Christmas finally came to Hogwarts and many students had returned home for the holidays. Melanie, though it had pained her to do so, had sent a letter to Mrs. Danielson telling her that she would be staying for the holidays. Melanie knew that Faye would be very upset with her, only adding fuel to the already smoldering fire, but Harry and the others needed her help. It was a sacrifice she had to make.

Melanie was sitting in the Gryffindor Common Room by herself, she had told the others that she would meet them in the girls' bathroom later, and was taking the time to think. It shocked her how quickly people changed once they were persuaded by rumors. Seamus and Dean, who she had considered to be good friends, no longer looked at her, never mind talked to her. Even Neville, who had a genuinely kind soul, was trying to avoid her as much as he could. But they weren't the people she was worrying about.

She had noticed over the last few months, that Ginny had become rather sick-looking and jumpy. Melanie wasn't sure what was causing it, but just the other day when she tried to talk to the girl, Ginny yelled at her for interrupting and ran off with her books. Melanie had thought of telling Ron, but knowing him he would over-react and Ginny would dislike her more.

She was about to leave the Common Room, when Ginny walked through the Portrait hole, muttering to herself. Melanie was about to say something, but Ginny seemed completely lost in thought. So Melanie just watched as she walked past her and made her way up the stairs. Confused, Melanie left the Common Room to meet the others, though the entire way she was thinking of a way to help the poor first year.

The day of the Christmas feast arrived and Melanie found herself sitting beside Hermione, across from the boys, as they made their final plans.

"Everything's set," Hermione told them. "We just need a bit of who you're changing into."

"Crabbe and Goyle," Harry stated.

With a nod, Hermione continued. "And we also need to make sure that the real Crabbe and Goyle can't burst in on us while we're interrogating Malfoy."

"How?" Ron asked.

Hermione smiled and Melanie held up two delicious-looking cakes.

"I've got it all worked out," Hermione told the boys. "I've filled these with a simple Sleeping Draught. Simple, but powerful."

"Now," Melanie began, "once they're asleep, hid them in a broom cupboard and pull out a few of their hairs."

"And who's hair are you ripping out?"

"We've already got ours," Hermione said, holding up a small vile. "Millicent Bulstrode. I got this off her robes."

"And I've got mine," Melanie said as she too pulled out a small vile. "Parkinson was stupid enough to shove me in the hallway. She didn't even know I pulled these off her."

Hermione stood from her seat, Melanie following. "All right then… we're going to go check on the potion."

Melanie placed the cakes on the table, one in front of both Harry and Ron. "Just make sure Crabbe and Goyle find these."

She left the Great Hall with Hermione, who had a look of determination on her face. Melanie couldn't remember the last time she saw Hermione 'okay' with breaking the rules.

The Polyjuice Potion was exactly the way it was supposed to be and Melanie praised Hermione for her good work. As they waited for the boys to show up, they decided to pass the time by talking about their lives outside of the magical world of Hogwarts.

"I know Faye will be mad at me for missing the holidays, but I couldn't just leave you and the others. Besides just the thought of tricking Malfoy was enough to make me stay," Melanie said.

"I'm sure she'll forgive you," Hermione said. "From what I heard she's a nice girl."

Melanie nodded, knowing that Hermione was right.

"I can't imagine what it would be like having so many sisters," Hermione said. "Just being around Ron with his family is overwhelming!"

Melanie laughed. "It can be chaotic sometimes. What is it like being an only-child?"

Hermione shrugged. "It's okay. I have a good relationship with my parents, I suppose. Sometimes I wish I had a little sister though. Someone I could teach magic to."

"Yeah…" Melanie said distractedly. As soon as Hermione had said, 'I have a good relationship with my parents,' Melanie began to think. Had they been around, would she have had a strong relationship with her own parents? Would she have had _real _siblings? Maybe a little sister or brother that she could teach…

"Did you get it?"

Melanie looked up from her dead gaze to see Harry and Ron run into the bathroom, each of their hands clasped tightly. Hermione nodded and went to stand by the bubbling cauldron, first pointing to a pile of Slytherin robes. "I sneaked those out of the laundry," she said.

Melanie, already wearing her stolen Slytherin robes, joined the others at the cauldron, in which the mud-like potion was frothing.

"I'm sure I've done everything right," Hermione said. "It looks like the book said it should. Once we've drunk it, we'll have exactly one hour before we change back into ourselves."

The others nodded their understanding. One hour to find the Slytherin Common Room, get inside, and get enough information out of Malfoy to satisfy them. _So_ simple.

"Now what?" Ron asked.

"We separate it into four glasses and add the hairs," Hermione told him.

As the boys went to change into the Slytherin robes, Melanie helped Hermione pour the disgusting potion into four glasses. They just finished as the boys came out.

Ron grimaced.

"I like ours better."

Melanie gave each of them a glass and took one for herself, before pulling Parkinson's hairs out of the small glass vile.

"Now we add the hairs…"

Melanie dropped the hairs into the glass and turned away at the smell. She could believe she was going to drink this!

"Ugh," Ron exclaimed. "Essence of Crabbe."

"On three?" Melanie suggested.

The other three nodded and looked at her to start the countdown.

"Okay. One…two…three."

She raised the glass to her lips and as quickly as she could she chugged it back. At first she didn't feel anything, though it tasted horrible, and she looked at the others, who seemed to be getting the same effect.

Ron suddenly doubled over and groaned. "I think I'm gonna be sick," he said before running into one of the bathroom stalls.

Hermione's hand went to her mouth and she too ran into a stall.

Melanie suddenly felt as though she was going to vomit. "Me too," she said as she ran into the next stall.

She swore to never drink that stuff again.

When she was finally feeling better, Melanie stepped out of the stall and came face-to-face with Goyle, who was actually Harry.

"Melanie?"

"Harry?"

"Yeah, it's me," Harry said.

"This is weird," Melanie told him.

Just then Ron stepped out of his stall, an exact image of Crabbe.

"Harry?" he asked.

"Ron?"

"Melanie?"

"Yes, now stop before I get a headache," Melanie told them.

"We still sound like ourselves," Harry said. "You need to sound more like Crabbe," he told Ron.

"Bloody hell," Ron said in an imitation of Crabbe.

"Lower," Harry told him.

Clearing his throat Ron repeated, "Bloody hell." It was even lower this time, but still not quite right.

"Less intelligent," Harry said.

Melanie laughed as Ron said "Bloody hell," for the third time, dumbing his voice down.

"Excellent," Harry said grinning.

"Where's Hermione?" Melanie asked.

"I…I don't think I'm going!"

Melanie turned to look at the stall that Hermione had entered, and not yet come out from.

"You go on without me," Hermione told them.

"Hermione, are you okay?" Harry asked.

"Just go! You're wasting time!"

Melanie pushed the boys towards the door, along the way catching her appearance in the mirror. Her hair was darker, almost black, and much shorter than usual. Her eyes were no longer blue either, instead they were dark brown. Her face was rounder, but not fat, and Melanie was slightly thankful that Pansy and her were about the same size.

She hurried along the corridor with Harry and Ron, who were still correcting things about the other.

"Don't swing your arms like that," Ron told Harry. "Goyle hold them sort of stiff."

After Harry adjusted, Ron said, "Yeah. That's better."

"Would you two stop and help me figure out where the Slytherin Common Room is?" Melanie snapped. She was growing slightly annoyed, possible from all the pressure that was on them.

"That was good," Ron said.

Melanie rolled her eyes. "That wasn't an impression, Ron."

They turned the corner and suddenly heard footsteps. They were about to turn around when Ron's older brother, Percy Weasley, appeared at the end of the corridor and saw them.

"Excuse me!" he said as he walked towards them.

"What're you doing down here?" Ron asked.

Melanie nearly kicked herself. He still sounded like himself.

Percy seemed confused by this too and gave him and odd look. Harry quickly nudged Ron in the ribs.

Ron cleared his throat and in a much lower voice asked, "What're you doing down here?"

"I happen to be a Prefect," Percy said. "You, on the other hand, have no business wandering the corridors at night."

The three of them nodded, not exactly sure how to get out of the current situation.

Percy looked at them strangely. "What're your names again?"

"Crabbe! Goyle!"

Melanie looked behind her to see Malfoy walking towards them, an irritated sneer in his face.

"Where've you been?" he asked Harry and Ron. "Pigging out in the Great Hall all this time?"

Harry and Ron nodded stupidly, not knowing what else to do. Malfoy looked at Harry, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Why are you wearing glasses?" he asked.

Melanie looked at Harry. He was still wearing his glasses! She hadn't noticed until now!

Harry quickly swiped them off and put them in his pocket. "Oh…um… reading," he told Malfoy.

"Reading?" Malfoy repeated. "I didn't know you could read."

Then Malfoy turned to Melanie. "And you. I've been looking for you everywhere," he said. Also not able to think of anything else to do, Melanie nodded and looked at her feet.

Malfoy glared at Percy. "And what are you doing here, _Weasley_?"

"Mind your attitude, Malfoy," Percy countered. "You might want to show a little more respect to a school Prefect!"

Malfoy just sneered at him before turning and walking away. Melanie and the boys followed cautiously, only assuming that he was leading them to the Common Room. Thankfully he did. Malfoy fell onto a couch across from them, comfortably sprawled out, but not knowing what to do with themselves, Melanie, Harry, and Ron remained standing.

"Well, sit down."

Melanie sat down on a cold, green, leather couch between Ron and Harry, folding her hands nervously in her lap.

Unfortunately for her, Malfoy turned to Melanie first. "How's that essay for McGonagall going?" he asked.

Melanie looked at him and then the other two. What was she supposed to say?

"Well?" Malfoy pressed. "Is it done or not?"

"It's nothing you should worry about Malf-Draco," Melanie answered, hoping it was a good enough answer.

He looked at her critically for a moment before smirking. "Good," he said.

Then he moved on to a different subject. "You'd never know the Weasleys were pureblood's," Malfoy started. "The way they behave. They're an embarrassment to the wizarding world…all of them."

Beside her, Ron clenched his fist, looking about reading to hit Malfoy any second. She just gave him a warning look.

Malfoy, however, saw this. "What's wrong with you Crabbe?" he asked.

"Stomachache."

"You know," Malfoy continued, uncaringly, "I'm surprised the Daily Prophet hasn't done a report on all these attacks. I suppose Dumbledore's trying to hush it all up. Father always said that Dumbledore was the worst thing that ever happened to this place."

"You're wrong!" Harry said defensively.

Melanie groaned inwardly. At this rate, Malfoy would figure out who they were without them having to look like themselves.

Malfoy stood up and glared at Harry. "What?" he demanded. "You think there's someone here who's worse than Dumbledore?"

Harry took a few seconds to think of an answer that could save them. "Harry Potter?" he said.

Malfoy grinned. "Good one, Goyle. You're absolutely right. Saint Potter. And people actually think that he's the Heir of Slytherin?"

"But then you must have some idea of who's behind it all?" Harry asked.

"You know I don't Goyle," Malfoy said as he made his way over to a table and picked up a wrapped gift. Melanie had an inkling that it wasn't _his_ present. "I told you yesterday. How many times do I have to tell you?"

He shook the present for a sign of what it was and looked at the three of them. "Is this yours?" he asked them. They all shook there heads and Malfoy pocketed the gift.

"But my father did say this," Malfoy continued. "It's been fifty years since the Chamber was opened. He wouldn't tell me who opened it, only that they were expelled. The last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened, a Mudblood died."

Melanie hand flinched towards her pocket, where her wand was kept.

"So it's only a matter of time before one of them is killed this time. AS for me, I hope its Granger."

Ron jumped from his seat and only Harry and Melanie stopped him from attacking Malfoy.

"What's the matter with you three?" Malfoy asked. "You're acting very… odd."

"It's his stomachache," Harry answered.

While Malfoy was turned away, he was opening the present now, Harry turned to Ron. "Calm down," he whispered.

Ron, however, wasn't paying much attention. He was staring at Harry's forehead. "Sc-scar," he stuttered.

Melanie looked at Harry's forehead as well and saw the faint mark returning. She turned to Ron and saw that his hair was beginning to grow longer again and was returning to its usual ginger colour.

They both looked at Melanie and muttered, "Your eyes," and she could only assume that her eyes were blue again.

Their hour was up.

The three of them made there way to the exit, not daring to look back when Malfoy called after them.

Melanie ran along-side them as they began to transform into themselves again. She felt her hair brush her shoulders and knew it wasn't short anymore and the tingling in her face told her that it was changing back too.

By the time they reached the bathroom they were all fully returned to normal.

"That was close!" Ron exclaimed as he rested against one of the stall doors.

"Hermione! Come out, we've got loads to tell you!" Harry called.

"Go away!" she called back. Melanie frowned in confusion. Why was she still inside the stall, an hour after they had left?

"Hermione? Is everything alright?" Melanie asked.

She jumped back in surprise as Moaning Myrtle floated through the closed door and giggled. "Wait 'till you see! It's awful!" she told them before drifting away.

Melanie looked at the boys, who just nodded their heads. "Hermione?" she asked gently as she slowly pushed the door open.

There was no light in the bathroom, so the stall was dark, but Melanie could tell that something was wrong. "Do you remember me telling you, the Polyjuice Potion was only for human transformations?" Hermione asked. "It was cat hair I plucked off Millicent Bulstrode's robes!"

Slowly Hermione turned to face them and Melanie's hands flew over her mouth. Hermione's face was covered in hair and she unmistakably had cat eyes and ears.

"Look at my face!" she said.

Behind them, Moaning Myrtle was laughing hysterically, but it was Ron who said, "Look at your tail!"

Melanie hit him on the arm and went to comfort Hermione, who was positively distraught.

"Shh, it's really not that bad, Hermione," Melanie said. "I'm sure Madam Pomfrey could fix this up. You'll forget it ever happened."

"Doubt it."

"Ron!"


	8. Petrified and Alone

**AN: **Thank you to all of my wonderful reviewers! You're all really amazing!

Melanie's second year is nearly wrapped up with this chapter. At the request of some of the previously mentioned wonderful reviewers, I have decided to stray from copying everything from the movie (a little). You'll see when you read.

**Read & Review!**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or anything related to him. They are the sole property of J. K. Rowling. However Melanie and any other unrecognized characters are mine.

**Chapter 8: Petrified and Alone**

Hermione was in the Hospital Wing for the next two weeks and though Melanie enjoyed spending time with the boys, she missed her female companion. Either way she found herself walking with the boys on their way back from dinner, headed towards the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Have you spoken to Hermione?" Ron asked as they climbed the stairs towards Gryffindor Tower.

"Yesterday," Melanie answered. "She should be out of the Hospital Wing in a few days."

"After she stops coughing up fur balls," Harry added.

Ron laughed and Melanie snickered a bit before all three suddenly stopped. Underneath their feet a puddle of water was forming.

"I think Myrtle's flooded the bathroom again," Melanie said, treading carefully across the wet floor. She followed Harry and Ron towards the bathroom door and walked past the ignored 'Out of Order' sign. As soon as they entered the bathroom, the wails of Moaning Myrtle could be heard as she sobbed and howled in agony.

The taps were all running on full and the sinks were overflowing with water, which then splashed to the floor. They came around the corner and Melanie watched as Myrtle turned on them, her eyes glaring at them accusingly.

"Come to throw something else at me?" she hiccupped.

Harry frowned. "Why would we want to throw something at you?"

"Don't ask me!" Myrtle wailed. "Here I am, minding my own business, and someone thinks it's funny to throw a book at me…"

Ron, in his usual insensitivity, bluntly said, "But it can't hurt if someone throws something at you. I mean, it'd just go right through you wouldn't it?"

"Oh sure!" Myrtle shrieked, swooping down to him. "Let's all throw books at Myrtle because she can't feel it! Ten points if you can get it through her stomach! Fifty points if it goes through her head!"

Ron stood in shock and was rooted to the floor in fear, but Harry continued. "Who threw it at you anyway?" he asked.

Moaning Myrtle turned to him. "I don't know. I didn't see them," she said. "I was just sitting in the U-bend, thinking about death and it fell through the top of my head."

She floated away into a stall and Melanie turned to Ron, who was still stock-still. "Nice, Ron," she said, before watching Harry walk towards another stall. He bent over and picked something up off the floor, shaking the water away slightly.

He returned to their side and held out a small, black, leather-bound book. Melanie stared at it curiously, having no idea whose it was, or why Harry was so interested in it.

"It's a diary," Harry said as they walked away from the bathroom a few moments later. "And it's old…"

Ron scoffed. "It's a diary… its old… and was most recently in a toilet, Harry," he said, clearly not finding any point.

Harry went to open it, but Ron suddenly reached across Melanie and grabbed his hand to stop him. "Are you mad?!" he exclaimed. "That could be cursed! Dad once told me about a book the Ministry confiscated that burned the eyes out of anyone who tried to read it."

"I'll take my chances," Harry said, slowly opening the front cover of the book.

Melanie watched nervously, when suddenly Harry gasped. "Ahhh! My eyes! My eyes!" he cried.

Both Ron and Melanie froze and looked at him terrified, but when Harry started laughing Melanie hit him across the arm. "Harry James Potter that was not funny!" she scolded, but now even Ron was laughing.

She scowled at both the boys before snatching the book out of Harry's hand. "Back to the diary…," she said in an unamused, very Hermione-ish tone. She opened the front cover and looked down at the front page. "T. M. Riddle," she read. "Who's T. M. Riddle?"

"I don't know," Harry replied, then he pointed to something else on the page. "Look here… this diary was written fifty years ago."

"Wait!" Ron said suddenly, causing Melanie and Harry to stop and look at him. "Did you say T. M. Riddle?"

Melanie nodded.

"T. M. Riddle got an award for special services to the school fifty years ago," Ron told them.

She looked at him in amazement. "How'd you know that?"

"Filch made me polish his award about fifty times after I burped slugs all over it," Ron said glumly. "If you'd wiped slime off a name for an hour you'd remember it too."

Harry took the diary and flicked through the pages. "That's odd," he commented. "He never wrote in it."

Melanie looked at it too and found that every page was completely blank without the faintest trace of writing on them.

"Maybe he never got around to it?" Ron suggested.

"Or maybe something else," Melanie said.

As soon as Hermione was out of the Hospital Wing, Melanie told her the story about the diary, along with the boys help. At the moment, Hermione was flipping through the blank pages, while the four sat around the Gryffindor fire late at night.

"Tom Riddle…," she mused. "You said he won and award fifty years ago?" she asked Ron, who nodded.

"Yeah, he won an award for special services to the school," he answered.

"Fifty years ago?" Hermione pressed. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, Hermione! Why?"

Hermione sighed. "Don't you remember what Malfoy told you? The last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened was…"

"Fifty years ago," Harry finished, realization finally hitting him.

Nothing hit Ron, however.

"So?" he asked.

"Oh, wake up, Ron!" Hermione reprimanded. "We know the person who opened the Chamber of Secrets last time was expelled _fifty years ago_. We know T. M. Riddle got an award for special services to the school _fifty years ago_…"

Ron was still getting nothing.

Melanie, who was sitting next to him, sighed. "Ron, what if Riddle got his award for _catching the Heir of Slytherin_? His diary would probably tell us everything!" she exclaimed.

"Where the Chamber is," Hermione continued. "How to open it and what sort of creature lives in it. The person behind these attacks wouldn't want that information lying around would they?"

"That's a brilliant theory, you two," Ron said. "With just one tiny little flaw. _There's nothing written in here_!"

Hermione stared at the diary disappointedly, as if hoping the answers would magically appear. "It must be invisible ink!" she said and pulled out her wand, tapping a page three times.

"_Aparecium_!"

To Hermione's dismay, the pages of Riddle's journal remained blank and they all went to bed with buzzing minds.

Melanie woke the next morning in an unusual manner. And by unusual; she wasn't used to having Hermione drag her so abruptly out of bed and down the stairs while she was still in her pyjamas.

"Hermione, what's going on?" Melanie asked as she tripped her way down the stairs.

"Just hurry!" was all Hermione said.

When they reached the Common Room, Melanie found Harry and Ron waiting for them, both looking anxious and worried.

"Would someone please tell me what's going on?" she asked.

Hermione and Ron looked at Harry and he sighed. "Mel… it was Hagrid. Hagrid opened the Chamber fifty years ago," he said.

Melanie stared at him blankly, wondering if she had really just heard those words come out of his mouth. When no one else spoke of laughed at the assumed practical joke, Melanie shook her head.

"He would never do that, Harry. Never," she said.

The other three watched her quietly for a moment and she said, "You know he'd never do that."

"I'm just telling you what I saw," came Harry's reply.

Melanie looked at him strangely. _What he saw_? That didn't make any sense at all!

Hermione cleared her throat. "We have to get going for classes," she told them.

Melanie nodded. "I'll meet you in the Greenhouses," she told them as she left for the dormitory.

The entire time getting dresses, Melanie was wondering about what Harry had said. How did he _know_ that it was Hagrid? Hagrid would never do such a thing! He would never attack innocent people… he would never kill a poor girl!

She was still pondering this when she walked down the staircase into the Common Room. However her attention was diverted by something, or rather, someone else in the room.

Ginny was pacing the length of the Common Room nervously, as if waiting for something, while she wrung her trembling hands. Her eyes were glazed over and unfocused, and the bags under her eyes told Melanie that she had not been sleeping well.

"Ginny?" she asked, her tone full of concern.

The first year girl looked up at her and stopped walking. Her eyes were startled, seemingly at the sight of finding someone else inside.

"Are you alright?" Melanie asked.

Ginny just nodded and rushed past her up the stairs of the girls' dorms. Melanie could help but notice the distance Ginny had used when walking by. Something told Melanie that something wasn't right, but she pushed the thought away and headed towards the portrait hole.

When she caught up with the others, they were already making their way down to the Greenhouses.

"It can't be Hagrid," Hermione was saying. "It just can't be!"

"We don't even know this _Riddle_," Ron told Harry. "He sounds like a dirty, rotten snitch to me."

"That monster killed someone, Ron!" Harry said. "What would any of us have done?"

"Harry, this is Hagrid we're talking about," Melanie said, finally making her presence known. "_Hagrid_… who took us on our first trip to Diagon Alley. Who introduced us to everything. Who barged into Dumbledore's office this year to defend us!"

"I know what I saw, Melanie," Harry said, though she could tell that he was fighting an inner battle. He knew she was right, Hagrid would not have _willingly_ done something like this.

"Look," Hermione began. "Hagrid's our friend. Why don't we just go and ask him about it?"

Ron looked at her unbelievingly. "Oh, that'd be a cheerful visit!" he said sarcastically. "'Hello, Hagrid! Tell us, have you been setting anything mad and hairy loose in the castle lately?'"

"Mad an' hairy?"

Melanie and the others turned around and saw Hagrid himself standing behind them, the usual happy grin on his face.

"Wouldn' be talkin' 'bout me, now would yeh?"

"No!" all four of them exclaimed, far too quickly.

Harry nodded to the container Hagrid held on his hand. "What's that you've got, Hagrid?"

"Flesh-Eatin' Slug Repellent. Fer the Mandrakes, yeh know," he told them. "Accordin' ter Professor Sprout, they still got a bit o' growin' up ter do, but once their acne clears up we'll be able to chop 'em up, stew 'em, an' get those people in the hospital un-petrified."

Hagrid gave a meek smile, which suddenly turned serious. "In the meantime though, you three had best be lookin' after yerselves, all righ'?"

Melanie nodded with the others and watched as Hagrid walked away into the castle. It couldn't be Hagrid! It couldn't be! He was trying to help the Petrified people, not hurt them!

She was repeating this over and over in her head when Neville came running out of the castle doors, stumbling over to them. His face was anxious, worried, possibly even scared. Melanie wondered what on earth happened to make him act like this. She knew it couldn't be good.

"Harry!" he exclaimed anxiously. "I don't know who did it, but you'd better come! C'mon!"

Before she could take in what he had even said, Melanie was running off after him, back into the castle and towards the Gryffindor Common Room. The five of them jumped through the portrait hole and Melanie shouted, "Neville, what's going on?!"

Neville didn't answer or acknowledge her; instead he bounded up the boys' staircase with Harry right behind him. She didn't think twice about entering their dormitory, though Hermione was muttering nervously behind her. The only thing she could think about was the mess before her.

Papers and books were strewn across the floor, picture frames broken, and clothes lying in heaps on the ground. Melanie assumed that it was Harry's bed (he went over to that first) that was the one completely dishevelled. Pillows had even been ripped open and the remaining feathers fluttered lightly to the ground.

"It had to be a Gryffindor," Hermione said as Harry walked over to his trunk, which lay wide open on the floor. "Nobody else knows our password."

"Unless it wasn't a student…," Melanie said quietly, watching Harry shift through his books.

"Whoever it was, they must have been looking for something," Ron said.

Harry stopped and sighed. "And they found it," he told them. "Tom Riddle's diary is gone."

Days passed and Melanie still had no idea who could have possibly stolen the diary. As far as she knew, nobody except Hermione, Ron, Harry, and herself knew about it. How had someone found out? Even so, why did they steal it?

The morning of the Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff came and Melanie was still pondering this, along with Hermione. The boys were more preoccupied with the match that afternoon, as Ron tried to help Harry calm his nerves. Melanie kept quiet as Ron attempted to raise Harry's spirits, it seemed a pointless venture to her. Harry was nervous the morning of every match, and with the diary to worry about as well, he was in a worse state.

Either way, she and Hermione the Great Hall after breakfast and headed towards the Common Room, while Ron continued to cheer Harry up. They agreed to meet at the match because Hermione wanted to edit one of her essays beforehand and Melanie honestly didn't want to stay with the boys to talk about Quidditch. After just getting Hermione back, Melanie wasn't going to let her only female company escape so easily.

On their way to the Common Room, Melanie thought about the diary, or the Chamber of Secrets. Personally, she wanted to know where it was. Hundreds of searches of the school had turned up nothing and someone, in one to seven years, had not only found it, but tamed whatever monster was inside.

"Where is it?" she muttered to herself as they entered the deserted Common Room.

Hermione looked at her. "Where's what?" she asked.

Melanie looked up to find Hermione watched her curiously. "The Chamber," she told her. "I don't understand how someone could have so easily found it. And the monster, whatever it is, how could it be tamed so quickly?"

"Here's a better question," Hermione said. "Why's nobody seen it?"

Melanie shook her head wonderingly. "I don't know. You'd think someone would have seen a great monster lurking around the castle, going through corridors in plain sight…"

A look of realization sprung onto Hermione's features and she gasped. "Melanie! I think I've just understood something! I've got to go to the library!" she exclaimed, turning and walking towards the exit.

"Wait, Hermione!" Melanie called after her, but the girl was too focused to hear. Sighing, Melanie shrugged her shoulders and peered around the room, wondering what she could do to pass the time. She wound up with nothing, and ended up examining her fingernails while she waited for the boys to show up. When they did, they noticed Hermione's absence and asked Melanie what happened.

"She ran off," she told them. "We were talking about the Chamber and she said that she finally understood something and ran off to the library."

"_What_ does she understand?" Harry asked.

Melanie shrugged. "I couldn't get _that_ information out of her."

"But why's she got to go to the library?"

Ron laughed. "Because that's what Hermione does. When in doubt, go to the library!"

Melanie gave a meek smile, before glancing at the magic-powered clock on the side table. "You'd better get moving, Harry," she said. "It's nearly eleven…you'll be late for the match."

Harry nodded and sprinted up the boys' staircase, returning moments later with his Quidditch robes and his Nimbus Two Thousand.

They made their way down to the pitch, Harry going off in the direction of the team change room once they reached the pitch. Melanie and Ron continued into the stands and waited for the match to start. She couldn't help but notice how people had backed away once she came into view. Most of the school still believed she was helping Harry, and it frustrated her. She could only hope that whatever Hermione had figured out would help them find the real culprit.

A sudden movement to her left caused Melanie to look over and she watched as Neville came into view. She gave him a kind smile, trying to welcome him over, but he just stopped where he was, leaving an enormous amount of space between them.

Her discouraged sigh must have caught Ron's attention because he suddenly said, "It'll be alright you know. I mean, I talked to Fred and George about it and they don't _really_ think you and Harry are attacking anyone."

She knew he was trying to sound encouraging, but it didn't help her mood much. "Wonderful! I'm so glad Fred and George are on our side," she replied sarcastically.

Ron looked sympathetic. "Really, Melanie. It'll go away once they catch whoever's doing this," he told her.

"_If_ they catch who's doing this."

A commotion to their left ended the conversation, and Melanie looked over to see Professor McGonagall pushing her way through the crowd towards them. Her hat was knocked askew by a stray arm and Melanie might have giggled if the look on her teacher's face wasn't so serious.

"Miss Danielson! Mr. Weasley!"

Both of them stood straight as McGonagall waved them over. What had they done now? It wasn't a crime to watch a Quidditch match now, was it?

Melanie glanced at Ron, who nodded, before walking towards their Professor. Melanie sighed again as she saw Neville flinch away from her as she passed.

"Yes, Professor?" she asked when Melanie finally reached her.

Professor McGonagall looked between them fretfully, making the knot in Melanie's stomach tighten. Had something happened to Harry? They only left him ten minutes ago. What was going on?

"You'd both better follow me," she said, turning away and walking out of the crowd.

Melanie followed McGonagall, still feeling Ron's presence behind her, as they left the crowd, drawing curious eyes in their direction. Melanie tried to focus her gaze on McGonagall's back so that she wouldn't meet the eyes of the other students, but this was proven pointless. She could practically feel their eyes scrutinizing her.

When they escaped the crowd, Melanie saw Harry waiting anxiously. McGonagall nodded to him as she passed, and the three of them set off after her, towards the castle.

She walked close beside Harry and whispered, "What's going on?"

"I don't know," he whispered back, clearly having hoped that she would have some idea.

They followed Professor McGonagall the rest of the way in silence, and before they knew it they were inside the castle, making their way up the Grand staircase. It was only when they reached the forth floor that Melanie realized where they were being led. The Hospital Wing.

Melanie began to panic. Why were they being led there? What had happened? Tighter was the state the knot in her stomach took as she stepped around a corner. Sure enough, they followed the all too familiar corridor and entered through the wing doors, which were already waiting open for them.

"I warn you, this may be a wee bit of a shock," McGonagall told them.

In her nervousness, Melanie and gripped Harry's sleeve and her knuckles hand turned white from the very strength of it. Her feet grew heavy, as though they were trying to stop her from moving any further and her entire body was tense with nervousness.

And for a good reason.

When Melanie's eyes fell upon the person on the bed, she could not help the gasp that escaped her. Her hand released Harry's sleeve as it flew to her mouth, to prevent any cries that would have otherwise escaped. Tears pricked her eyes at the sight before her. It wasn't possible! It couldn't be possible!

But it was. Hermione Granger, one of her best friends, had been Petrified. Her body was completely frozen in the position it had been in before the incident, even one of her arms was bent off the bed, as if she had been in the process of raising it to her face. Her face itself was void of emotion, no trace of fear or surprise could be found. It was as though a statue of Hermione had been crafted as part of some cruel joke. Melanie hoped that was the case. That Hermione would come around the corner and laugh, telling them it was all some trick. But she never did.

"She was found near the library," McGonagall told them, her voice cracking slightly from holding back emotion.

Melanie kept her hand over her mouth in shock as McGonagall continued, "Along with this."

She held a hand-held mirror in her hand and Melanie recognized it instantly. It was Hermione's mirror, the one her parents had given to her as a present. Melanie had thought it was quite lovely, but Hermione never used it. Why then, was she found with it in plain sight?

"Does this mean anything to either of you?" McGonagall asked them.

Melanie shook her head, as did Harry and Ron.

Professor McGonagall took one last careful look at them before nodding. "Very well. You should return to the Common Room immediately," she said.

A tear escaped Melanie and it rolled down her cheek slowly. Hermione had been petrified. _Hermione had been petrified_. The words held no meaning to her, except that it couldn't be true. More tears began to fall from her eyes as Harry and Ron led her out of the Hospital Wong, neither saying anything. It was a quiet trip to the Common Room, but even if the boys had said anything, Melanie wouldn't have noticed. All she could think about was what she had seen. What had happened.

When they reached Gryffindor tower, Melanie broke away from the two boys and made her way over to the fireplace. Unthinkingly she sat down in an armchair and pulled her knees up into her chest, so that she was curled up in a tight ball. She noticed, as she gazed into the flames in front of her, that Harry and Ron didn't follow her, instead they moved towards the staircases and out of her view.

Melanie was not aware of anyone else in the Common Room, until Professor McGonagall walked in nearly and hour later. Melanie had not moved from her position, she had not moved her legs or even her head since she sat down. And she still didn't move, only listened as her professor addressed the entire house.

"Could I have your attention, please? Because of recent events, these new rules will be put into affect, immediately," she announced. "All students will return to their House Common Rooms by six o'clock…every evening. All students will be escorted to each lesson by a teacher. No exceptions."

A few disgruntled mumbles reached Melanie's ears, but she didn't care to see who they had come from.

"I should tell you this," McGonagall said in an even more serious tone. "Unless the culprit behind these attacks is caught… it is likely the school will be closed."

With that she turned and left the Common Room, whispers erupting inside the tower as soon as the portrait hole had closed. Melanie looked more intently into the fire, as though willing it to produce some answer as to how to stop all this. If only she knew who was behind it all…if only she had gone to the library with Hermione…

Hours passed as she sat there and the population in the Common Room began to dwindle down until only a few stragglers and herself were left. Finally, when she was the only one left, she stood and stretched, wincing slightly at the pull in her back and neck.

Melanie jumped as she heard a noise from behind her, and turned to see Harry and Ron at the base of the stairs. Harry had his Invisibility Cloak in his arms.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked, his tone betraying how concerned he was.

Melanie ignored the question; she wanted to know where they were headed.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"To see Hagrid," Harry told her, moving into the center of the Common Room. "We have to ask him about the Chamber of Secrets."

Melanie shook her head. "Hagrid didn't do this. He would never do this," she defended.

"Melanie, we have to ask him," Harry continued. "If he knows what's attacking the students…"

"He doesn't know Harry!" Melanie yelled.

Ron and Harry looked taken aback at her anger, but Melanie didn't care. How dare they think that Hagrid would attack Hermione?!

"Melanie, that thing he had fifty years ago attacked people! It killed a girl!" Harry shouted.

"Hagrid would never do that! Never!"

Harry took a step forward, now his anger was getting the better of him. "I've seen Riddle's diary! He stopped Hagrid's monster all those years ago!"

"So _you_ say!" Melanie cried.

Harry looked at her aghast. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"You talk about friendship, Harry, but clearly you know nothing! You trust a stranger's diary over a _real_ friend! What kind of friend does that make you?!" she screamed.

Ron looked as though he was trying to shush them, to stop them from waking the entire house, but his attempts were futile. Melanie and Harry were both too stubborn to accept defeat.

"You're supposed to be on my side!" Harry yelled at her. "You're supposed to be my friend!"

"Yeah, well, not anymore!"

The words left her mouth before she could stop them. But her anger prevented her from apologizing or trying to take her words back. Instead, she stormed past a shocked Harry and Ron towards the girls' dorms. She reached the foot of the staircase and turned back to see them looking at her with stunned expressions.

"Have fun getting expelled," she spat.

With those last words she left the Common Room and stormed towards her dorm room. She quietened her pace as she entered the room, not wanting anyone else to wake up, but she was still furious. Melanie walked over to her bed and got under the covers, without even thinking about changing. Angry tears began to pour down her face, and she used the silencing charm Hermione had taught her to block out her sobs. Knowing that she had lost her only two remaining friends, and that she was completely alone, Melanie fell asleep to her tears.

The next morning Melanie woke early, before anyone else in her dorm had risen. The sun had not even rose over the top of the trees of the Forbidden Forest yet, but she had no intention of going back to sleep. She figured she had gotten, perhaps three hours of sleep, only sleeping for minutes at time before she woke again, and more tears came. It all seemed so surreal to her: Hermione being attacked, her fight with Harry… it all felt like a dream. But when she dressed and realized that Hermione was not in her bed and that Harry would not be waiting for her in the Common Room, she accepted that this _dream_ was real.

She left the Common Room and made her way to the Great Hall alone. She knew most of her day, and the days after, would be like this, going to meals and classes alone. But she knew deep down inside her that she was right. Hagrid did _not_ open the Chamber of Secrets. She was convinced he hadn't.

The Great Hall was practically empty when she arrived, only a few people were already inside and eating their breakfast. There were three Hufflepuffs at their table, fifth years she assumed, and there was a single Ravenclaw boy at his table. He was perhaps a third year. There were no Slytherins or Gryffindors there yet.

Melanie quietly made her way to her table, sitting with her back facing the Ravenclaw boy. She helped herself to some eggs and potatoes, even taking some bacon. There was never any bacon left for her, Ron always assumed everyone had eaten and took the rest. Melanie slightly wished he was there to take it from her.

"Did you hear what happened?"

Melanie turned in her seat to look at the Ravenclaw boy, who was watching her with questioning eyes. She had never seen him before, she thought she might recognize him if he were only a year older, but she didn't. His hair was light brown, slightly highlighted from the sun, and his eyes were an amazing shade of sky blue. He couldn't have been much taller than Harry or Ron, but he did have broader shoulders and he looked less lanky than the boys.

In the end, she decided that he looked friendly enough, and she could use a friend anyway.

"No, what happened?" she asked.

"Dumbledore's gone," the boy told her, his tone sad. "Last night apparently."

"Gone?" Melanie asked, shocked. "Where'd he go?"

The boy shrugged. "Don't know. I heard it was the Board of Governors, though. Something about him not being in control of this whole 'attack' thing," he told her. "Stupid if you ask me. If anyone's going to stop this, it'll be Dumbledore."

Melanie nodded vaguely, wondering if Harry and Ron knew this. She looked at the boy. "How do you know all this?" she asked.

The boy grinned. "I might have, uh, _overheard_ McGonagall talking to Sprout about it," he said.

Melanie smiled. "You were eavesdropping? That's very un-Ravenclaw-like, don't you think?"

He shrugged. "I can't help my curiosity," he said.

"Did you ever hear the saying 'Curiosity killed the cat'?"

"I'm not worried about that," he said. "I'm a pureblood."

Melanie frowned and looked away, knowing exactly what he was talking about.

"Look, I'm sorry," he apologized. "I shouldn't have said that."

She looked back at him to find his hand sticking out in her direction, implying that he wanted to make peace. Hesitantly, Melanie took his hand and shook it.

"I'm Mark Harris," he said.

"Melanie Danielson."

"Yeah, I know. You're in with Potter."

Melanie pulled her hand away from his, glaring. Even though she wasn't exactly on talking terms with Harry, she wasn't going to let anyone insult him.

Mark looked at her, his hands raised in defence. "Relax, I don't think he's doing it," he told her.

She looked at him, her eyebrow quirked in surprise. "You don't?" she asked.

Mark shook his head. "Nope," he said honestly. "I mean don't get me wrong, he's got to be something if he stopped You-Know-Who, but I don't think he's the Heir of Slytherin. Not really the type, if you get my meaning."

Melanie smiled. "I'm glad. Finally someone who doesn't think he's the root of all evil," she said, sounding relieved.

"Or that you're his sidekick," Mark added.

She smiled and was about to turn back to her breakfast when Mark asked, "Where is Potter anyway?"

The smile left Melanie's face as she answered, "I'm not sure really."

Mark seemed to get the idea. "Sorry. He'll come around I'm sure," he told her. "Besides, _most_ of the school is against him. He could use all the friends he can get."

Melanie nodded and turned to her breakfast, hoping that Harry realized the same thing.

She talked to Mark for most of the morning, about trivial things like Quidditch and some band called the Weird Sisters, until people began to enter the Great Hall. He said good bye as he moved down the table to sit with his friends, leaving Melanie alone again. She had long since finished her breakfast and was contemplating going back to the Common Room when Ginny sat down across from her.

If Melanie had thought that Ginny had been looking sleep-deprived the last time she had seen her, then this time she was sure the younger girl was dead on her feet. The circles under her eyes were even more prominent and her skin was clammy and pale. She rocked back and forth in her seat slightly, as though she had an extreme case of fidgeting. Melanie noticed how Ginny's hands trembled and her eyes darted down either side of the table, before coming to rest on Melanie.

"Ginny, what's wrong?" Melanie asked.

"There's… there's something I have to… have to tell you…," Ginny mumbled, her eyes staring Melanie down.

Frightened slightly, Melanie asked, "What do you have to tell me?"

Ginny opened her mouth, but no words came out, instead she began fiddling with the napkin in front of her.

"Ginny, whatever it is, you can tell me," Melanie said, trying to sound less terrified than she was.

"I've done something. Something terrible," the girl squeaked.

Unknowingly, Melanie leaned in closer to her. "What have you done, Ginny?"

"I…"

"Melanie?"

Melanie looked up to see Neville watching her, not hiding how scared he was well enough. Ginny looked away, and Melanie inwardly cursed her luck.

"Yes, Neville?" she asked kindly.

His eyes darted down the table and then back to her. "Harry, he uh, wanted me to give you this," Neville said, holding out an envelope.

Melanie looked at the letter and then down the table. She could see Harry and Ron talking with Percy about something. Melanie didn't want to take the letter, she could guess what might have been inside it, but she knew she couldn't leave Neville with it so she took it from him.

"Thanks, Neville," she said, smiling still.

Neville just nodded and walked away, not looking back at her once. Melanie sighed and turned to Ginny, who was still turned away from her. Choosing to read the letter later, Melanie said, "Ginny, what were you going to say?"

Ginny looked at her nervously and soon began shaking her head. "No, no, it's nothing. Nothing."

"Ginny, you can tell me. I won't…"

Still shaking her head, though more insistently now, Ginny got up from the table. "It's nothing. I swear. Forget it," she said. With that she walked away, leaving Melanie alone, yet again.

In all honestly, Melanie had forgotten about the letter from Harry, what with wondering about Ginny and still upset about Hermione. These thoughts hadn't gone away until late at night while she sat in bed, hoping for sleep to come over her. As soon as she did remember it, she jumped out of bed and searched her bag for it. Melanie found it at the bottom of her bag, and it was slightly crumpled when she pulled it out.

Once she had returned to her bed, Melanie ripped open the envelope and pulled out the letter, which was clearly from Harry.

_Melanie, _

_This isn't a letter of apology, so don't look for any "I'm sorry"'s, like I know you will. But I will say that you were right. Hagrid didn't open the Chamber of Secrets fifty years ago. Ron and I went to his hut last night, but before we found anything out, Fudge came. He's taken Hagrid to some place called Azkaban; Ron said it's a wizarding prison. Lucius Malfoy was there too. He took Dumbledore. _

_But before Hagrid left, he told us to "follow the spiders". We did, they led us into the Forbidden Forest. That thing Hagrid kept as a pet fifty years ago, it was a giant spider. It still lives in the forest, along with its family. It spoke to us; it told us that it wasn't the monster that killed that girl. That the monster was born in the school. He said the girl was discovered in a bathroom. Ron and I think it must have been Moaning Myrtle. It makes sense, doesn't it? _

_Ron and I were nearly killed though; the spider set its family on us. We only got away because of Ron's dad's car. The one we flew to school at the beginning of the year. We got away fine. _

_I know you won't want to talk to me. I don't blame you, really. I just thought you should know this. _

_Harry_

_P.S. Ron says "Hi" _

Harry was right about one thing; Melanie still didn't want to talk to him. At least not until he _really_ apologized to her. So, she went about her day, alone. Mark said 'hello' whenever he saw her, but they never talked long enough about anything. Melanie never saw Ginny, though she tried looking for her everywhere. And she visited Hermione whenever she got the chance, though these visits never revealed new information and almost always left Melanie close to tears.

It was three days since Harry sent the letter that Melanie finally found out something useful. She was walking to lunch when she passed by the girls' bathroom that Moaning Myrtle sulked in. Remembering what Harry had said in his letter, Melanie opened the door and stepped inside.

The bathroom was empty, as usual, and Melanie was hesitant when she called out Myrtle's name. Almost instantly, Melanie heard a moan come from inside a stall and Myrtle floated through the door.

"What do _you_ want?" the ghost girl asked, sounding annoyed that someone had interrupted her.

Melanie stepped forward nervously. "Myrtle, can I ask you something?"

Moaning Myrtle looked at her sorrowfully, and then to Melanie's great surprise, nodded.

She stepped forward and asked, "Myrtle, how did you… how did you die?"

"Oh! That's what you wanted to know?"

Melanie nodded.

"Well, I don't know! I was in here, crying, when I heard a voice. I told whoever it was to go away and when I came out… I died," Myrtle said.

"Just like that?" Melanie asked.

The ghost nodded. "Yes. But not before I saw a pair of big, yellow eyes."

Melanie had no idea what that meant or what use it would be to her, so she turned to leave. However she stopped at the sound of Myrtle's annoyed voice.

"And tell everyone else to stop coming in here! Even if they are girls!"

Melanie turned back to her, an idea suddenly coming to her. "Who else has been in here?"

"Well, you of course. And another girl."

She was sure that her tone had become desperate as she asked, "Do you know the girl's name?"

Myrtle shook her head. "No. But she had nice hair. Lovely, red hair…"

"Red hair?" Melanie asked urgently. It couldn't be. It couldn't. "Myrtle was she young? A first year?"

When Myrtle nodded, Melanie's heart sunk.

"Myrtle… what was she doing in here?"

Myrtle floated by her with a grin and stopped near the sinks. "She kept going _down there_."

"_Down there_? Myrtle, what's down there?"

Myrtle laughed at Melanie's obvious distress.

"_The Chamber_."

The next thing she knew, Melanie was running down the corridors as fast as her legs could carry her. She had to find her. She had to find Ginny.

Melanie couldn't believe it was true. But it all made sense and everything seemed to fit. When Melanie had seen Ginny pacing in the Common Room, she must have been waiting for everyone to leave. That way she could steal Riddle's diary. And at breakfast a few days earlier, Ginny had said she had done something terrible. Attacking people seemed terrible enough to Melanie. She just couldn't understand why Ginny was doing it. Why had she attacked all those people? Why had she attacked Hermione? And how?

She ran to the Gryffindor Common Room, hoping that she might find Ginny there. Melanie thought that she could convince Ginny to stop. She hadn't killed anyone, and the people who had been petrified would be un-petrified soon. Maybe Melanie could stop it all.

When she entered the Common Room it was empty, which was expected since classes were going on. Melanie looked around the room and then went up the girls' staircase, stopping at the first year's dorms.

She entered without knocking and was genuinely surprised to see Ginny sitting on her bed, her legs crossed and a book in her lap. However, Ginny won the award for being the most shocked; she jumped up at the sight of Melanie and dropped the book. It fell to the floor and Melanie recognized the plain black cover. It was Riddle's diary.

"Melanie… what… what're you…," Ginny stuttered.

"Ginny, I know it's you," Melanie said.

Ginny's eyes grew wide with fear. "How?"

"Myrtle told me," Melanie told her. "She told me that you'd been going down to the Chamber of Secrets."

Complete fear was the look on Ginny's face, as tears grew in her eyes. She knew she was caught, she knew that it was over.

Melanie stepped forward carefully. "Why? Why did you do it?" she asked.

Ginny began shaking her head. "I didn't want too," she said. "I really didn't want too. He made me."

"Who made you, Ginny?" Melanie asked.

"Riddle."

It was Melanie's turn to be shocked and her eyes grew wide in consequence. Tom Riddle? It didn't make any sense, how had Tom Riddle… Then it dawned on her. The diary.

"You tried to get rid of it," Melanie said in realization. "The diary. You tried to flush it in Myrtle's bathroom."

Ginny nodded.

"But then Harry found it. And you stole it back."

Again Ginny nodded. "I couldn't let him find out. He couldn't find out it was me," she said, her voice cracking.

A moment of silence enveloped the room before Melanie spoke. "Okay. It's alright, Ginny. We'll just go to Dumbledore and tell him that…"

"No!" Ginny cried. "You can't tell him! You can't!"

"Ginny, it's the only way to stop this," Melanie told her. "Dumbledore will know what to do about the diary. We can stop this."

"No! We can't!" Ginny screamed.

Melanie stepped forward. "Ginny, relax, I'm trying to help you," she said soothingly.

"Stay away from me!" Ginny yelled.

"Ginny!"

"Stop!"

Melanie stepped back when Ginny turned on her. Her eyes were glazed over and angry. Melanie knew that it wasn't Ginny anymore, but that didn't make her any less scared.

"Ginny… stop," Melanie said, trying to reason with her.

Ginny shook her head. "I'm sorry. You know too much." Her voice wasn't the same. It was eerie, unnatural.

Melanie stepped farther away. Her hand slid down inconspicuously to her pocket, where her wand was. She didn't want to use it against Ginny, but she would if she had too.

"Ginny, think about this. Think about what you're doing."

"I know what I'm doing," Ginny said. "I'm helping the school. Getting rid of Mudbloods."

"Like Hermione?" Melanie said venomously. "Was it easy for you to try to kill her?"

Ginny didn't answer, though Melanie thought she saw a flicker of something in her eyes. As soon as it had come it was gone and Ginny had backed Melanie into a corner. Melanie touched the wood of her wand and tugged it out slightly.

"I'm sorry, Melanie. It's not personal, I swear. But I can't get caught," Ginny said.

Ginny jumped forward and Melanie whipped her wand out, but before she could utter a word, Ginny touched her. A cold tingle went through her body and a black spot began to cloud her vision.

"Ginny!" she cried as she was literally blinded. "Ginny, stop!"

"I'm sorry, Melanie. I'm sorry."

The first feeling that came to her was a dull ache from her chest, which grew to cover the rest of her body. Then the ache began to disappear starting in her toes and leaving as it worked its way up to her head. Melanie strained her hearing, but was confused when she heard nothing but the drip of water. Her other senses began to come back to her, she smelled something foul and her mouth tasted dry. Whatever she was lying on was hard, cold, and slightly wet.

Melanie tested her eyes and found that when she opened them, she could see. She had half expected to still be blind. This made her curious… grateful, but curious. Looking around she found herself in a cave of some sort, the crumbling walls around her were covered in grime and filth, as was the ground beneath her.

Slowly, she pushed herself off the dirty ground, thankful that she had at least some strength in her. Melanie managed to pull herself into a sitting position and then slowly to her knees. It was while in this position that she heard the first signs of life within the cave. A cry echoed throughout the chambers and the faint flapping of wings reached her ears. She didn't understand why a bird would be in a cave, no more than she understood why she was there.

Using the wall beside her, Melanie struggled to her feet, her hands slipping on the grime of the stone. Looking around she came to realize that she was in an alcove of the side of a long dark tunnel. Melanie looked down either end of it, knowing that she had to find a way out. Unfortunately, when she reached for her wand, it wasn't there. She thought that Ginny must have it wherever she was.

Wandless and completely unprotected, Melanie stepped out of the alcove and started down the passageway. She kept as quiet as possible, not knowing what was down there.

A hiss suddenly reached her ears and Melanie stopped. In the distance she could hear slithering… and footsteps. She listened and the bird she had heard from before cried again, and was joined by pain-filled hisses.

Another, more human, cry reached her ears, followed by someone talking. Thinking that there was help somewhere, Melanie tried to run towards the sound. However she was proved wrong when she turned the corner and found Harry running down the tunnel towards her, a giant snake on his tail.

She opened her mouth to call out to him, but he ran to her, covered her mouth, and dragged her into another niche in the tunnel. Harry kept his hand over her mouth and Melanie could only watch helplessly as the snake came into view. Harry pulled her into the corner of the alcove and they cowered fearfully as the snake poked its giant head in, baring its razor-sharp teeth.

Melanie felt like screaming, the snake was only inches away from her, but she couldn't. Not because Harry's hand was preventing her from making any sound, but because her voice had disappeared when terror had consumed her. It was only that reason that kept her quiet as Harry bent down beside her. Melanie didn't dare look away from the snake to see what he was doing, but allowed herself a quick glance when a clatter was heard down the tunnel.

The snake turned towards the sound and Melanie looked at Harry, who had his finger pressed to his lips. Melanie did as she was told and kept quiet, and watched as the snake slithered away towards the sound.

Harry looked to see if the snake had gone and turned to take Melanie's hand. She was sure that the amount of force she gripped his hand with was unnecessary, but she was too terrified to really notice at the time.

They remained silent as Harry led her through a pathway that opened out into a vast Chamber. Quickly, she noticed the giant statue of the face of a man, his mouth wide open. It didn't occur to her who it was, because her focus was taken up when her eyes fell upon Ginny who was lying unmoving on the ground before the statue. A boy, perhaps seventeen or so, stood above her, and as Harry brought Melanie to a stop at Ginny, Melanie realized who he was.

Tom Riddle.

Harry bent down to Ginny, who looked as though she was merely sleeping, and Melanie stared at Riddle unbelievingly. How was it possible? This Riddle existed fifty years ago. She took in his face, realizing how handsome he was… had been. His hair was dark, but neat and his face-structure was strong. He was tall and well built, and again Melanie was left wondering how this was all possible.

"Yes, Potter. The process is nearly complete. In a few minutes Ginny Weasley will be dead and I will cease to be a memory," Riddle said.

At hearing that Ginny was dying, Melanie bent down too and felt her hand. It was as cold as ice.

"Lord Voldemort will return. Very… much… alive!" Riddle exclaimed.

Melanie looked up at him and saw a manic look in his eyes. She didn't understand what he meant by this threat, but she didn't disregard it either.

"Ginny," Harry pleaded.

Melanie jumped as the snake shot out of the pool of water behind them, crying in agony. Harry pulled her to her feet and stepped over Ginny towards something on the ground. She wasn't paying attention to what it was exactly, and so she was surprised when Harry appeared in front of her holding a sword.

"Hide!" he said as his pushed her towards the shadow.

Melanie, her eyes still on the snake, ran towards the shadow, expecting Harry to do the same. However, when she finally reached a safe place she noticed he did not, instead he was running towards the statue, the sword heavy in his hand. The snake heard him and followed as Harry climbed the statue, swinging the sword when the snake came too close.

She wanted to do something, anything to help, but without her wand she was useless. Melanie watched as Harry moved away just in time to avoid the snake's attack and then continue up the statue. The snake struck again, and Harry nearly lost his balance, but managed to hold on.

Melanie looked away from Harry towards Ginny and Riddle. Ginny was still unconscious, and Riddle was watching the snake pursue Harry with a content look on his face. She looked around for some way to help Harry, when her eyes suddenly landed on a glorious sight. There, just three feet away from Ginny behind Riddle, lay her wand. Melanie jumped up and ran towards it, catching Riddle's attention. He must have seen what she was after because a wand, Harry's wand, was pointed in her face moments later.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Riddle sneered.

Melanie looked up at Harry who was struggling to his feet, while the sword began to slip down the rock, and the snake was ready to strike.

"I bet you wouldn't do this either," Melanie told him.

Riddle watched her with a look of curiosity, which turned to fear when she shouted at the snake. Her plan worked, the snake momentarily stopped its attack, giving Harry time to get up and grab the sword. Melanie looked on as the snake turned back to Harry and lunged and Harry raised the sword.

The sword pierced the skull of the snake and it let out a painful cry, before falling down dead. Melanie let out a sigh of relief, but this feeling vanished as Riddle turned on her with a hateful look in his eyes.

"You stupid girl," he seethed.

Melanie stepped back, fear evident in her again, but Riddle didn't touch her. Instead he turned to Harry, who was slowly making his way over to Ginny's body, holding his arm and carrying the sword and a tooth in his hands. Harry weakly fell to his knees and Melanie ran to his side, only then realizing that he was hurt.

"Remarkable isn't it, how quickly the venom of a Basilisk penetrates the body," Riddle mocked. "I guess you have a little more than a minute to live."

Then Riddle sneered. "You'll be with your dear Mudblood mother soon, Harry."

Melanie looked at Harry. A minute? He couldn't die, it was Harry! He couldn't! Her hand gripped his shoulder while the other reached out for Ginny's still cold hand, under which Riddle's diary lay. This wasn't happening. It wasn't!

Harry reached out, covering Melanie's hand with his own and Riddle said, "Funny… the damage a silly, little book can do. Especially in the hands of a silly, little girl."

Melanie felt Harry's hand pull away as he reached for the diary and pulled it away. Harry put the diary on the ground and the pages sprawled open.

"What're you doing?" Riddle asked.

He got no answer, except Harry picking up the snake's tooth, raising it above the book. A determined look came over Harry's face; a fearful one came over Riddle's.

"Stop!" Riddle warned, reaching out to the diary.

Harry plunged the tooth into the worn pages of the book and Melanie watched in amazement as a tear seemed to appear on riddle. As black ink oozed over the pages, Harry stabbed the diary again, creating a new rip on Riddle. Riddle, who Melanie had come to realize was not real at all, cried in agony.

"The cover, Harry! The cover!" she yelled.

Harry closed the book and with one last look at Riddle, thrust the tooth through the black leather cover of the diary. Riddle screamed and Melanie closed her eyes against the eruption of light that came from his body.

When she looked up again, Tom Riddle was gone.

A gasp brought her back and Melanie looked down at Ginny, whose eyes were wide open and her breathing quick. She looked around carefully before sitting up.

Melanie returned to Harry's side, as he called for Ginny. Ginny turned around, and upon seeing them both, her eyes went wide.

"Harry?" she asked hesitantly. "Melanie?"

Both Melanie and Harry nodded and Ginny continued. "It was me, but I swear I didn't mean too. Riddle made me. And…" Her eyes grew wider at the sight of Harry's arm. "Harry you're hurt!"

Harry shook his head. "Don't worry," he told her. Then he turned to Melanie. "You need to get yourselves out. Follow the chamber and you'll find Ron," he said.

"Harry, I'm not leaving you behind," Melanie said.

"You have too," he replied. He winced slightly at a pain in his arm. "Melanie, I'm sorry. You were right all along. I shouldn't have been so…"

"That's not important," Melanie interrupted, though she was happy that he finally apologised. "We can get out of here, _all of us_."

Harry shook his head. "No. You have to leave me."

"Harry, you're my best friend!" Melanie exclaimed. "And if I've learned anything from you… it's how to be a good friend."

Melanie saw that Harry understood the double meaning in her words because he smiled slightly.

"I'm not leaving you."

A cry echoed through the cavernous chamber and Melanie looked up to see a beautiful scarlet and gold phoenix gliding through the air towards them. It was Fawkes.

Dumbledore's beautiful bird landed beside Harry and looked at him sadly.

"You were brilliant, Fawkes," Harry told the bird. "I just wasn't quick enough."

Melanie watched sadly as the phoenix leaned down towards the wound on Harry's arm, letting a single tear fall. She craned her neck to get a better look and what Melanie saw amazed her. As Fawkes let another tear fall onto Harry's arm, the wound began to disappear, heal itself.

"Of course," she whispered. "Phoenix tears have healing powers. Dumbledore told us in his office."

Harry looked at her and smiled before turning to Fawkes. "Thanks," was all Harry could think to say.

"It's alright. It's over," Harry said, looking between Melanie and Ginny. "It's just a memory."

Melanie smiled and helped him up and soon the three of them were leaving the chamber behind, never to see it again.


	9. Happy Endings and Beginnings

**AN: **Sorry for the slow update. I've been battling computer problems and finally ended up victorious.

Another chapter up! Thanks to all of my favorite people (a.k.a. the best reviewers on the planet!) for reading and reviewing the last chapter. I'm glad you're all enjoying it! This one covers the end of year two and the summer before year three.

**Read & Review!**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or anything related to him. They are the sole property of J. K. Rowling. However Melanie and any other unrecognized characters are mine.

**XXX**

**Chapter 9: Happy Endings and Beginnings**

It surprised her that Dumbledore's office didn't look at all overcrowded with all the people inside. Dumbledore himself was there, back from wherever he had gone after being suspended, as well as Professor McGonagall. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had arrived at the school when they had first heard that Ginny had been taken into the Chamber. Harry told her that they were called when Ginny had unknowingly left a message on a wall saying that two students had been taken into the Chamber of Secrets. Ron was there with his family, shock still hanging over him. Mrs. Danielson was there beside her, kissing her hair softly every so often and rubbing her back comfortingly. Melanie was grateful for this. She needed comforting, and no matter how many times Mrs. Weasley hugged her and thanked her, it couldn't fill the gap that Mrs. Danielson filled. That motherly comfort.

It was then, even though conversation was still going on around them, that Melanie began to feel guilty. Harry, who sat on her other side, had no parent to comfort him, even though he had risked the most. They were both parentless, but Melanie had Mrs. Danielson. Where were Harry's aunt and uncle? Sipping tea at home completely unaware and uncaring.

Melanie's attention was brought back by Dumbledore's voice, which seemed to prod her out of her musing.

"What interests _me_ most," he said gently, "is how Lord Voldemort managed to enchant Ginny, when my sources tell me he is currently in hiding in the forests of Albania."

Other than the news of Lord Voldemort being alive, something in what her Professor said quirked her interest. In the Chamber, Riddle had said that Lord Voldemort would return. But what Voldemort had to do with the Chamber of Secrets, Melanie didn't know. And how Tom Riddle knew him, when Lord Voldemort was after his time, she didn't understand either.

"W-what's that?" Mrs. Weasley stuttered. "_You-Know-Who_? Enchant _Ginny_? But Ginny's not… Ginny hasn't been… has she?"

"It was this diary," Harry said holding up Riddle's diary. "Riddle wrote it when he was sixteen."

While Harry handed the journal to Dumbledore and it was looked over carefully, Melanie said, "I realized it was controlling Ginny too late."

She looked at the Weasleys, who were now watching her carefully. "I noticed she was acting strange. First I thought it was just stress from school, but then she came up to me. She tried to tell me it was her. And then I went to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom…"

Harry was looking at her now. "I remembered what you said Harry," Melanie told him. "That it was Myrtle who had died fifty years ago. So I asked her. She eventually told me it was Ginny who was going down the Chamber of Secrets."

Mrs. Weasley gasped and hugged her young daughter tighter, causing more silent sobs to escape Ginny.

"I tried to stop her," Melanie said. "But the diary… Riddle, took over again."

Professor Dumbledore looked at her thoughtfully, and Melanie looked away to Mrs. Danielson. She had little idea of what was going on, but she knew the severity of what happened. Melanie could tell by the tight grip the elderly matron had on her shoulder.

"Professor?" Melanie asked. "What does all this… the diary, the Chamber… what does it have to do with Lord Voldemort?"

"Very few people know that Lord Voldemort was once called Tom Riddle."

A gasp escaped Melanie's lips. Tom Riddle was Lord Voldemort? A young Lord Voldemort? She had never imagined such a thing was possible.

"I taught him myself," Dumbledore said, "fifty years ago, at Hogwarts. He disappeared after leaving school… traveled far and wide… sank so deeply into the Dark Arts, consorted with the very worst of our kind, underwent so many dangerous, magical transformations, that when he resurfaced as Lord Voldemort, he was barely recognizable. Hardly anyone connected Lord Voldemort to the clever, handsome boy who was once Head Boy here."

Silence and shock enveloped the room, as each person tried to process what they had just heard. Melanie was still in disbelief; how could someone so cruel, so malicious, have once been a young, innocent child? Then again, was he ever innocent? Or has he been evil since birth?

"Perhaps," Dumbledore began, "Miss Weasley and Miss Danielson should go up to the Hospital Wing straight away. This has been a terrible ordeal for the both of them. Bed rest and perhaps a large, steaming mug of hot chocolate. I always find that cheers me up."

Melanie, though in all honesty thought she was fine, stood and walked towards the door. She wasn't about to refuse hot chocolate and sleep. Mrs. Danielson followed her, and then Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Ginny, but before they left Dumbledore spoke.

"You will find that Madame Pomfrey is still awake. She's just giving out Mandrake juice. I daresay the Basilisk's victims will be waking up any moment," he said.

Waking up? That meant…

"So Hermione's okay?" Ron said, unmistakable brightness in his tone.

"No lasting harm has been done," Dumbledore answered.

Excitedly, Melanie left the office and made her way down the hall, eager to reach the Hospital Wing even more so. Hermione was awake! She was alright!

Her thoughts were interrupted when a hand touched her shoulder and Melanie turned to find Ginny looking at her.

"Thank you," she said, "for trying to stop me. I was hoping you might figure me out. I didn't want to do those things…"

Melanie smiled and gave Ginny a hug. "It's okay. It wasn't your fault. No one could have resisted that kind of magic," Melanie told her.

Ginny smiled thankfully and together they walked towards the Hospital Wing, neither wanting to break the restful silence.

When they reached the Hospital Wing, many beds were occupied; most patients were sitting up comfortably, talking. Madame Pomfrey noticed them first, and hurried Ginny and herself over to available beds, before bustling off to get their hot chocolate. Melanie looked around, eager to find Hermione, but she did not see any sign of her friend.

She could not think on it any longer because Mrs. Danielson suddenly appeared at her side.

"I don't understand much of what happened," she began, her voice gentle. "But I do know from what your Professors have said that you were in great danger in this…chamber. And I have to tell you, that had we… lost you… I couldn't have found it in me to tell the girls."

Melanie felt tears prick her eyes as Mrs. Danielson took a shuddering breath, trying to keep her composure. She continued, "I always wondered what I had done letting you come to this school…"

"No, please!" Melanie exclaimed. "Don't take me away!"

Mrs. Danielson smiled. "Of course I'm not taking you away. This is where you belong, Melanie. You have friends here. And though we all miss you, we would never take you away from your true home."

Madame Pomfrey brought her hot chocolate and Melanie sipped it quietly as she listened to Mrs. Danielson tell her about what was going on at the home. Marissa was studying for her final exams; Mrs. Danielson said she planned on taking summer courses. Faye was still missing her terribly, and couldn't wait for Melanie to return for the summer. At hearing this, Melanie swore to be better that coming summer; she knew that Faye had been a bit annoyed by her last visit.

Melanie slowly finished her hot chocolate and was tucked into the soft, warm sheets of the bed. It was all over and her conscience could rest. There would be no more attacks, Hermione was awake, she wasn't arguing with Harry. All was well at Hogwarts again.

It was no wonder that sleep took her so easily.

Melanie had been asked by Madame Pomfrey not to disturb the other sleeping patients, even though Melanie wanted to run over to Hermione's bed and wake her. She did as she was told, and left the Hospital Wing alone, as Mrs. Danielson had left earlier that morning.

Melanie first went to the Gryffindor Common Room, in order to change out of her still filthy clothes. She smiled as she caught sight of the familiar portrait hole, the Fat Lady grinning widely at her as she approached.

"Welcome back!" the Fat Lady sang brightly.

Melanie smiled back. "Thank you!"

She entered the Common Room and was hit with yet another surprise. Half the house was sitting in the Common Room, and as soon as she entered Neville, Seamus, and Dean ran over.

"I'm so sorry, Melanie!" Neville apologized. "I'm really sorry!"

"Me too!" Dean added.

Seamus grinned. "Yeah. Besides, we didn't really think you were doin' it."

"Alright, there!"

"Back off!"

"The Dark Princess needs…"

"… her space people!"

Melanie laughed. "Are you two ever going to stop?"

Fred and George grinned at her. "That depends," Fred said.

"On?"

"Whether that monster's still alive," said George.

More people gathered around eagerly, listening to hear what she had to say. Melanie had not expected to become spokesperson on behalf of the others, but she knew she had to say something.

"It's over. There won't be any attacks anymore," she said.

The entire house erupted in cheers and clapping; overjoyed at the good news. Melanie was hugged by a few people, and got many claps on the back, but somehow she managed to escape to her dorm.

The end of term feast was fantastic! It was every year, but this year there was something else, something that Melanie couldn't put her finger on. It might have been the joy of the attacks being over, or the anticipation she had waiting for Hermione, but either way it was marvelous!

Melanie was sitting in between Harry and Ron, who were both talking animatedly with the others. She was pleased to see that everything had gone back to normal. Almost.

"Harry!" Neville said grabbing their attention. "It's Hermione!"

Melanie looked towards the doors to the Great Hall and saw Hermione standing there with the biggest smile on her face. Melanie began to smile too as she stood up from the table with the boys. Hermione ran down the aisle between the two tables and hugged her. She hugged Harry too, but Melanie could only giggle when it came for Ron's turn. They both stopped, and awkwardly shook hands.

"Welcome back, Hermione," Ron said, his face turning red.

"It's good to be back," Hermione replied. "Congratulations, I can't believe you solved it!"

"Well, we had loads of help from you," Harry told her. "We couldn't have done it

without you."

"But it was Melanie that gave me the idea," Hermione said, looking at Melanie.

Melanie furrowed her eyebrows. "I did?"

"That day I went to the library," Hermione said. "You were wondering how a great monster could be strolling around in the corridors in plain sight. That's what gave me the idea!"

"Oh," Melanie said, still unsure of how that really helped. "You're welcome, then."

Their laughter was cut off when Professor McGonagall's voice cut through the Great Hall. "Could I have your attention please?" she called.

Melanie and the others sat down at the table and looked towards the staff table, where Professor Dumbledore stood.

"Before we begin the feast," he began, "let us have a round of applause for Professor Sprout and Madam Pomfrey, whose Mandrake juice has been so successfully administered to all who had been petrified."

Melanie joined in the loud cheering and clapping that echoed through the hall, giving Hermione a warm smile.

"Also," Dumbledore continued, "in light of recent events, as a school treat, all exams have been cancelled!"

The noise level in the Hall rose even higher as the students welcomed this treat. Only Hermione seemed to be disappointed.

Professor Dumbledore sat back down and just as the feast was about to begin, the doors to the Great Hall opened wide. Melanie grinned as Hagrid stepped into the Hall; she had never been more happy to see him.

"Sorry I'm late," he apologized. "The owl that delivered my release papers got all lost and confused. Some ruddy bird called Erol."

Melanie looked at Ron, whose face turned scarlet, as Hagrid walked down the table towards them. She turned in her seat and looked up at him, to see he was getting teary-eyed. And of course that made Melanie's eyes water.

"And I'd just like to say that," Hagrid said to them in a quieter tone, "if it hadn't been for you Harry, and Ron, and Melanie, and Hermione o' course… that I'd still be you know where and I'd just like to say… thanks!"

Harry stood up from the table. "There's no Hogwarts without you, Hagrid," he said, giving Hagrid a hug.

The Hall erupted in clapping and cheering again as students rushed over to Hagrid, and Melanie was nearly in tears when she finally got to give him a hug.

Melanie woke up early the next morning so that they could get to the train on time, and was not surprised to find Hermione already awake and waiting for her. Melanie grinned as she thought that this was the way it was supposed to be. As strange as it sounded, Melanie had missed Hermione waking her up early.

She dressed and grabbed her things before following Hermione down to the Common Room. Harry and Ron were waiting for them and together they left Hogwarts for the summer.

The train was packed with students as always, and Melanie ended up separated. She was searching different compartments when she came upon and _almost _empty one.

"Glad to see you're still walking," Mark said as a grin formed on his face.

Melanie smiled. "It's nice to still be walking."

"So I guess you're friends with Potter again?"

"Yep," Melanie replied, smiling.

Mark nodded. "That's good."

A strange silence passed over them and Melanie turned to leave when he called out, "I'm glad you're okay! Wouldn't have been nice to lose a friend like that!"

Melanie just smiled at him and left the compartment, knowing the end of her second year adventure was at an end and her next one was about to begin.

**XXX**

Melanie found that the summer before her third year was a particularly long one. In most normal circumstances a nearly thirteen year old girl would have been pleased with this fact, but not her. No, Melanie, though having enjoyed the time spent with her family was bored out of her mind. She was soon learning that she didn't have much in common with her sisters. She wasn't allowed to tell them she was a witch, therefore she couldn't talk about classes, or school, or anything magical at all. Melanie would give anything to hear Harry and Ron go on and on about Quidditch again!

But as she had promised she would, Melanie acted like a better friend to Faye, who she had thought was neglected the summer before. But Melanie found it difficult to talk about Muggle music or movies, or to help Faye with her summer Math assignment. In the end, Melanie found the most enjoyment reading her school books again (she thought Hermione would be so proud), or sending her friends letters in secret.

That was something else that worried her. Like the last summer, Harry was not responding to any of the letters that Melanie or the others sent. But she knew it couldn't be Dobby this time, so what?

On Melanie's birthday, the fifteenth of July to be exact, the girls threw her a surprise party, which was really just a big breakfast. Faye dragged her down the stairs and a still groggy Melanie found all of her sisters packed into the small kitchen. After a very loud chorus of 'Happy Birthday', Melanie and the others dug into a delicious feast, courtesy of Mrs. Danielson.

Then came the presents. Just as she had been the Christmas of her first year, Melanie was weary of opening all her gifts. But after a few minutes of prodding they managed to talk her into opening at least one gift.

Mrs. Danielson passed her a neatly wrapped present and Melanie tore back the paper. Inside was a brand new, leather journal along with a fresh bottle of ink and a beautiful feather quill. Melanie beamed and thanked each and every one of them.

"Now, now dear!" Mrs. Danielson interrupted. "Open it up!"

Melanie looked around curiously at the other beaming faces before opening the front cover, finding a tiny message written in the top corner on the inside of the journal.

_A place to keep all of your thoughts and dreams; and maybe a little bit of magic. _

Grinning, Melanie thanked everyone again before retreating to her room with her other presents.

Hermione had gotten her a book (surprise!) and knowing Melanie had really enjoyed the one about famous witches of the age, she had gotten her the second edition.

Ron had given her loads of sweets and a beautiful butterfly hairpin (he said Ginny had found it and thought it would be perfect).

Hagrid had also sent her a book, though Melanie wasn't quite sure what to do with this one. After it nearly bit her hand off, she read _The Monster Book of Monsters_. She didn't understand why Hagrid would pick this for her, but she managed to trap the literally snarling and snapping book and stuff it in a box under her bed. Hopefully it stayed there.

Harry, though unsurprisingly given his situation, had not sent her anything. Melanie wasn't the least bit unhappy about that information. She knew that if he could have, he would have. But he couldn't and that was understandable.

Melanie set her presents away out of sight and climbed onto her bed, where her stuffed lion from Harry lay. She smiled and sat it on her lap, while pulling out her new journal and quill.

_Dear Journal, _

_I've never had one of these before, so I'm not quite sure how to go about this. Perhaps I should start out by saying that whatever I put in here won't exactly be 'normal'. Then again, nothing about me is quite 'normal' either. _

_My name is Melanie Danielson, but that's not my real name. I don't know my last name, or my parents, or anything about my 'real' family. I'm an orphan and have lived in a Muggle (you'll understand soon enough) home ever since I can remember. I love it here; I have fifteen sisters and Mrs. Danielson is really like a mother to me. _

_That may seem pretty normal, but here it comes. I'm a witch. No, not like a scary Halloween witch with a wart and green skin. But I can do magic, well at least I'm learning. I go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. That's where they teach young witches and wizards to do magic. _

_I met my three best friends at Hogwarts. Hermione Granger is the most brilliant person I have ever met. She's at the top of all our classes and is constantly on me about my homework. But she's a lot deeper than that, which seems to surprise other people. She doesn't think about just work, she and I have had countless conversations about many other things. _

_Ron Weasley is another of my best friends. He's not nearly as brilliant as Hermione (though neither am I) but he's great fun. He's excellent at Wizard's Chess (same concept, just more 'barbaric') and is the funny one of our group. He always knows how to make us laugh, or get on our nerves. _

_And then there's Harry Potter. I've known him the longest out of all of them and can relate to him better than the other two, I think. See, Harry's an orphan too, but his tale is far more tragic than mine. His parents were murdered by Lord Voldemort, an evil wizard who I know for a fact is still alive. He tried to kill Harry when he was very young, but for reasons nobody seems to know, it didn't work. Everyone thought that Harry had gotten rid of him (at only a year old) and call him 'The Boy Who Lived'. But in my eyes, Harry is just… Harry. He gets into trouble, loves Quidditch and is one of the greatest friends I'll ever have. _

_I'm going into my third year at Hogwarts and I just know (looking back on past years) that this one can only get more interesting. _

XXX

A few weeks passed rather normally for Melanie, until the day she found an owl waiting outside her window, looking annoyed at being kept outside. And it wasn't just any owl. It was Hedwig. Melanie rushed over to the window and flung it open, knowing that Faye would be coming up for bed soon. Hedwig gave a grateful hoot and fluttered inside, perching herself on Melanie's bedpost.

"You can't stay long, Hedwig," she said, "If Faye catches you…"

Hedwig hooted again only to be shushed by Melanie. She quickly untied the letter from the owl's leg and ripped it open. Glancing at the closed door for a moment, Melanie began to read.

_Dear Melanie, _

_Sorry I haven't written my uncle wouldn't let Hedwig out. And happy birthday! I'll give you your gift when we meet up. _

_You won't believe what happened, Mel. I blew up my aunt! She's alright; the Ministry's sorted her out and erased her memory. I don't know how I did it; she was just talking down to my mum and dad and just sort of… inflated. I know Hermione won't be too pleased, and Ron will probably have a good laugh, but I know you would've done the same thing. _

_I suppose you haven't heard the news either. Someone escaped from Azkaban. Sirius Black they said. He was a big supporter of Voldemort when he was at large. No one knows how he did it, but there are tons of wanted posters around here. _

_I'm at the Leaky Cauldron by the way. I ran away after the whole 'blowing up my aunt' thing. Fudge was here when I arrived, but he wasn't mad at all. And he didn't do anything about the underage magic I did. I'm grateful, but I don't understand why. _

_I've written to Ron and Hermione already. Ron said his family just got back from Egypt (I don't know if you heard about that) and Hermione just got back from Paris (she probably did tell you about that). I was hoping we could meet up to get our school things. I've already got mine of course, but I can't wait to see you all again! _

_If you can't owl me back in time, come to the Leaky Cauldron whenever you get to Diagon Alley. _

_Harry_

"Melanie?"

She looked up quickly and darted to the door. Melanie leaned all her weight on it and watched as the doorknob shook.

While Melanie tried to shoo Hedwig out the window, Faye called through the door. "Melanie, what're you doing in there?"

"Uhh… I'm changing!" she yelled back.

There was a pause. "So?"

"Hedwig, go!" Melanie whispered hurriedly, flailing her arms in the owl's direction. Hedwig, however, either didn't care about Melanie's situation, or didn't notice. Melanie thought it was the former.

"Melanie, open the door!" Faye yelled, now banging on the wood.

Quickly glancing around, Melanie saw a pillow not too far out of reach. Still keeping most of her weight on the door, she bent over and stretched her arm towards it.

"Melanie!"

The pillow brushed the tips of her fingers, and after stretching just a little farther, Melanie was able to grab the pillow.

"If you don't open the door right now…!"

She picked the pillow up and threw it in Hedwig's direction. Just as she had hoped, the owl jumped up frightened and flew out of the window in a hurry.

"Melanie…!"

She opened the door and Faye nearly flew into the room. After regaining her balance, Faye looked at her.

"What were you doing in here?" she asked Melanie.

Melanie tried to give her a confused look. "What're you talking about? I told you I was changing."

Faye gave her a skeptical look before turning to her bed. "If you say so," the girl replied. "It's just that you've been acting rather strangely lately. No offense."

Melanie gave her a meek smile. "Don't think about it," she answered.

"Anyway," Faye continued. "I was thinking we could talk."

"Talk?" Melanie asked, still not moving from her position at the door.

"Yeah, like we used to," Faye said. "We never just talk anymore."

Melanie nodded slightly and joined Faye in sitting on her bed. They both sat in silence for a while, neither one could think of something to say to the other.

"So, your boarding school…," Faye finally said.

Melanie inwardly groaned. "What about it?"

"Well… are there any boys?" Faye asked.

"Umm… yes," Melanie answered.

Obviously though, that was not the answer Faye had been looking for. She gave Melanie a stern look. "You'll have to do better than that you know."

"What do you want to know?"

Faye smiled. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

"Yes… wait, no!" Melanie said. "I have a friend that's a boy. But he's not… none of them are…" 

A giggle came from Faye before she said, "Melanie, relax. Tell me about them. Your friends."

Melanie smiled slightly. She supposed this was something she wouldn't have to lie about. "Well, one of my best friends is Hermione. She's very smart. Then there's Ron, he's got a huge family. And Harry, well, I've known him the longest. He's an orphan like us too, only he lives with his aunt and uncle. They're terrible to him. Anyway I've known them since my first year. And I suppose… Mark. He's a year above me and I only met him last year. But he's really nice."

Faye grinned. "You know, that's about the most I've learnt about you in three years," she said.

"I'm sorry," Melanie apologized.

Faye waved the apology away. "Melanie, I get it. We only see each other during the summers. There's bound to be little to talk about. I'm fine with that, so long as you don't forget me."

Melanie grinned back at her. "Trust me. I couldn't forget you if I tried."

XXX

"Now you're sure you have everything with you?" Mrs. Danielson asked for the hundredth time that morning.

"Yes, I'm sure!" Melanie laughed.

She was waiting for Hermione and her parents to pick her up from the home. Together they were going to the Leaky Cauldron to see Harry, and Ron and his family were supposed to meet them there. And yes, Melanie did have all her things; at least she had her clothes and wand. She would by her books and other equipment in Diagon Alley.

"I was just making sure, dear," Mrs. Danielson said, looking out the window again for Hermione's parents.

Melanie turned to Faye who was smiling sadly at her. "We'll miss you," Faye told her.

"I'll miss you too, Faye," Melanie answered.

Faye gave her a tight hug. "Remember to write, okay?"

"They're here, Melanie!" Mrs. Danielson told her.

Melanie waved goodbye to her sisters and gave Mrs. Danielson a hug before walking out the front door. Hermione got out of the car and raced to meet her, engulfing Melanie in a tight hug.

"I've missed you so much! You have no idea!" Hermione cried, helping Melanie drag her trunk to the car.

"I think I have some idea, Hermione," Melanie laughed as Hermione's parents came into view. "Hello Mr. and Mrs. Granger! It's nice to see you again!"

"You too dear," Mrs. Granger said. "How was your summer?"

"Long," Melanie admitted. "It feels good to be going back."

Mrs. Granger smiled while Mr. Granger squeezed her trunk into the back with Hermione's. Melanie hopped into the backseat with Hermione, who immediately started chatting about her trip to France.

"You wouldn't believe the witchcraft there!" Hermione exclaimed. "Of course I had to rewrite my History of Magic essay when I got back. How was yours?"

Melanie looked at Hermione with a blank stare. "My History of Magic essay?"

"You didn't do it?!" Hermione cried.

"I forgot!" Melanie replied. "Besides there's plenty of time to do it still."

Hermione still gave her a disapproving look, but decided it would be best not to push the matter.

Melanie enjoyed talking to Mr. and Mrs. Granger and of course Hermione. Before she knew it they were in London and Mr. Granger stopped the car outside of a dingy looking pub. Melanie smiled at the sight of it, which would seem odd to someone who didn't know what was beyond those doors.

She dragged her trunk inside with Hermione, while Mr. Granger approached Tom, the barman. It seemed though that Mr. Granger didn't exactly know how to go about asking for directions or rooms, so it was lucky that Tom recognized her from the first time she had come with Hagrid.

"I remember you!" he shouted, causing Melanie to jump in surprise. "You'll be looking for Mr. Potter I suppose?"

"Yes," Melanie answered. "And we'll also need a room for until term starts."

Tom nodded and led Hermione and herself up a set of stairs. Dust covered everything and Melanie sneezed a bit as Tom unlocked a door for them. Inside was a small room with two beds, but there wasn't much else. Not that Melanie minded; they were only staying for about a week anyway.

Melanie placed her trunk at the foot of one of the beds before she followed Hermione back down the stairs to where her parents were waiting.

"Have a nice term dear," Mrs. Granger said, giving Hermione a hug. "And you as well Melanie."

"Thank you," Melanie said.

"Be good, girls," Mr. Granger added. He gave his daughter a hug and then both of them left the pub.

Hermione looked over at Melanie. "Now what do we do?"

Grinning, Melanie answered, "Now we find Harry."

Harry, however, wasn't in his room (Tom had told them which one it was; it happened to be directly across from theirs) and so Melanie supposed he was out in Diagon Alley. She returned with Hermione to their room where they collected their money, deciding that they may as well get some of their shopping done.

Diagon Alley was crowded as usual and they quickly lost the idea of finding Harry in the mess. So they headed towards _Madam Malkin's_ to get new robes and took a look inside a new shop called _Miss Madeline's Maiden Shop_. It was a shop full of things for girls, including charmed mirrors and something called an Ever-Straight Hair Brush. They even sold beautiful pieces of jewelry there, but one look at the price and Melanie and Hermione bolted.

Hermione also stopped them outside the Magical Menagerie and when she did so Melanie gave her a curious look.

"I've always wanted a pet," Hermione said, "And I do have enough…"

However, when they left the shop, Hermione was not carrying an owl like she had planned. Instead, a large orange cat with a flattened face called Crookshanks rested happily in her arms. Melanie couldn't help but laugh, the thing looked ridiculous. She was sure the boys would get a kick out of it.

They returned to the Leaky Cauldron and were immediately greeted by the Weasley family. Mrs. Weasley gave them each a bone-crushing hug and Mr. Weasley shook their hands. Fred and George made a joke about Hermione's cat which earned them a glare from the cat's owner. Ginny smiled and gave Melanie a hug; she had chosen to avoid Crookshanks.

When Ron finally reached them, he didn't even get a word out before Crookshanks went absolutely mad. He started hissing and spitting angrily and it was only then that Melanie noticed Scabbers, Ron's ancient rat, on his shoulder. Scabbers didn't stay there long however and soon both Ron and Hermione were chasing after their pets, which were chasing each other.

Melanie was watching the scene with an amused look. Hermione and Ron had finally managed to control their pets, though Crookshanks was still eyeing Scabbers, but now they were having a go at each other.

"I'm warning you Hermione! Keep that bloody beast of yours away from Scabbers, or I'll turn it into a tea cozy!"

Melanie grinned and then heard a quiet snicker from above her. She looked up and saw Harry watching the argument too. Her face lit up at the sight of him and he smiled down at her. Placing a finger to her lips to keep him quiet, Melanie turned back to the other two.

"It's a cat, Ronald!" Hermione argued, "What do you expect? It's in his nature!"

"A cat?! Is that what they told you?! Looks more like a pig with hair, if you ask me!"

"Oh, that's rich!" Hermione said, "Coming from the owner of that smelly, old shoe brush!"

"Oh, hello Harry! How are you?" Melanie exclaimed louder than was necessary.

Ron and Hermione looked from her to Harry, who grinned. "Oh, I'm wonderful Melanie! It's such a lovely day! Pity some people spend it arguing."

"Alright, Harry," Ron said, rolling his eyes at them.

Knowing that the fight was over for the time being, Melanie finally got to greet Harry giving him a big hug, which he returned.

"I'm sorry I didn't reply to your letter," she said. "Faye nearly caught Hedwig in our room so I didn't have time. Oh, and I'm also sorry if she came back with a temper."

Harry laughed. "Well that would explain it. I have your birthday present upstairs. Want me to go get it?" he asked.

"I have to get yours anyway," Melanie answered and they left Ron and Hermione down stairs.

Melanie went into her room and rummaged around in her trunk for his gift, which she found with little effort. Then she went across the room and saw Harry waiting on his bed. Melanie sat down beside him and passed him his present.

"Happy Birthday Harry," she said.

He grinned and tore back the wrapping paper, smiling at what he saw.

"I figured now you wouldn't have a reason to bug Hermione for the time," Melanie said.

She hadn't been able to get him a gift that was magical, so she had settled for a watch. It was true, Harry was constantly asking for the time.

"Hermione helped me put a charm on it so that the battery won't ever run out. That and it'll work at Hogwarts. I also thought, with Quidditch and everything, that you'd need something that wouldn't break too easily, so I put a reinforcement charm on it."

"It's brilliant, Mel!" he said, putting the watch on his wrist. Then he picked up her gift. "Your turn," he said.

Excitedly, Melanie ripped the paper off and found a box inside. She gasped when she opened it, revealing a gorgeous silver charm bracelet.

"Harry, it's beautiful!" she exclaimed.

"I was told you could add charms to it," he told her. "I picked out a few already for you."

Melanie looked at all the different charms. There was a lion, for Gryffindor obviously. Also, there was a tiny, silver broomstick. Melanie looked at Harry with a raised eyebrow.

He laughed. "Just so you remember who gave it to you."

"Harry this is so great," she said. "Thank you."

When they returned the others were already eating lunch at a large table (she supposed that Tom had extended it to fit all the Weasleys and Harry, Hermione and herself). Melanie and Harry sat down beside Hermione and Ron, the latter who showed them a picture of his trip to Egypt.

"Egypt! What's it like?" Harry asked.

"Brilliant!" Ron exclaimed. "Loads of old stuff like mummies, tombs… even Scabbers enjoyed himself!"

"You know the Egyptians used to worship cats," Hermione stated as a matter of fact as she held Crookshanks close to her.

"Yeah, along with the dung beetle," Ron replied, causing Harry and Melanie to laugh.

"Not flashing that clipping about again, are you Ron?" Fred asked.

"I haven't shown anyone!" Ron grumbled.

"No not a soul! Unless of course you count Tom -"

"- the day maid -," George started.

"- the night maid -"

"- the cook -"

"- that bloke who came to fix the toilet -"

"- and that wizard from Belgium!"

Melanie laughed at the scowl on Ron's face before she turned to the twins. "It's good to hear you two again," she said.

They grinned at her.

"Melanie!" George exclaimed. "Simply _splendid_ to see you!"

"Marvelous!" Fred interrupted, elbowing George out of the way. "Absolutely spiffing!"

She continued to laugh and by the time she had stopped, Melanie realized that Harry wasn't sitting with them. She looked around quickly and saw him talking in hushed whispers with Mr. Weasley in the corner. She wondered what they were talking about and why they were being so secretive about it.

XXX

The week came to an end and Melanie was carefully packing her trunk, making sure she had all of her books and supplies. Crookshanks was sprawled out on Hermione's bed while she read one of her textbooks.

She had just finished packing her school robes inside when Hermione said, "I wonder what we're going to get into this year."

Melanie looked up and grinned. "I don't know. But I can't wait."


End file.
